


Holding Rivers

by FromAnotherSun



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Some angst, Some pining, Soulmate AU, now including both POVs, stuff like that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 07:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16081481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromAnotherSun/pseuds/FromAnotherSun
Summary: Eliza explained it as the Brand, a unique mark that could only be shared with one other person. It would etch itself onto your skin the first time you touched your destined partner. Soulmate, Eliza had said, the person whose life was meant to be intertwined with yours.~~~The Brand, Lillian said dispassionately, was nothing more than a mark of weakness, a crutch that humans relied on as a delusion of security in a life of no guarantees. Despite its permanence, its appearance was arbitrary at best and thus had no true meaning.That conversation ended abruptly there, Lillian withdrawing all pretenses of attention, but even then, Lena couldn’t help but think that there was more to the Brand than that.





	1. In Which They Meet

**Author's Note:**

> Holding Rivers is told from Kara's point of view.
> 
> Chasing Cars is from Lena's supplementary point of view.
> 
> Chasing Cars can either be read concurrently with Holding Rivers in the order presented, or it may be read after Holding Rivers; the choice is yours.

Kara first learned about the Brand shortly after being taken to the Danvers.

She had been seated at the Danvers’ dining table with her new… family when she had asked in stiff, stilted English why Alex did not wear the crest of the House of Danvers. Upon receiving confused looks (along with one of annoyance), she had pointed to the strange symbol Eliza and Jeremiah both had on their left forearms.

Eliza explained it as the Brand, a unique mark that could only be shared with one other person. It would etch itself onto your skin the first time you touched your destined partner. _Soulmate_ , Eliza had said, the person whose life was meant to be intertwined with yours.

Alex had later scoffed and clarified that while soulmates indeed had some inexplicable bond they shared with no one else, the Brand did not mean that their lives would be magically aligned together. For starters, there was a small but notable population that never received a Brand their entire lives. Even when marked, circumstances could always keep soulmates away from each other, and, above all, there was always the inevitable and permanent separation that came with death.

The mention of mortality had brought that conversation to an abrupt finish, the loss of an entire world still too raw. The two sisters were given another reminder of the fragility of life when, a few years later, they were told that Jeremiah Danvers would not be coming home.

* * *

Kara learned that the Brand wasn’t exclusive to humans after half a year on Earth.

It had been during one of Kal’s rare but precious visits when Kara had asked him the question that led to her discovery.

“Kal? Can I ask you something about Lois Lane?”

Kara watched with a slight fascination as his eyes immediately lit up the way they always did whenever his significant other was mentioned.

“Go for it,” he encouraged her with a bright smile.

Kara took a deep breath. “What will you do if Lois Lane meets her destined human?”

“Destined human…?” For a second, Kal tilted his head until understanding dawned upon him. “You’re talking about the Brand,” he realized.

“Yes,” Kara nodded as she began to wonder if she should take back her question.

Kal’s smile shifted, but rather than showing the resignation or defiance Kara had been bracing for, there was something... peaceful there instead. “She already has her mark,” he said, the calmness in his voice reflecting his expression.

Kara’s prior hesitation from not wanting to overstep one of the boundaries between her and her cousin began to warp. Fighting down the strange, growing unease in her gut, she slowly repeated, “She already has her mark…”

“Yes,” Kal affirmed. “And I have the same one.”

“You are… bonded to a human.”

Her cousin must have picked up on the bitterness she tried to keep out of her words as his smile faded. Still, he was firm and unwavering when he confirmed, “Yes, I am.”

“... Where is it?”

He placed his hand on the middle of his chest.

Kara looked away.

Kal, who they called Clark Kent on this planet, had his mark underneath the crest of the House of El. Kal, who had never lived on Krypton, had a human-bound symbol etched directly on his skin. Kal, who didn’t even have a memory of Rao’s radiance, bore his Brand closest to his heart.

Logically, Kara knew it wasn’t his fault at all. The Brand was involuntary, and there was no deciding where it would carve itself. In fact, it made sense for it to be on his chest, somewhere he could conceal and protect it. As far as Kara could tell, Lois Lane was an admirable woman who gave him both strength and courage. Even if Kal had a choice in either of these matters, it wasn’t as though he could choose someone from home since they were all–

Maybe, Kara realized, that was why the knowledge of Kal’s Brand hurt so much.

Aside from adding to the distance between her and her cousin, it meant that he was supposed to fall in love and be with a human. It meant that he was supposed to be sent to Earth as an infant so he could grow up with the Kents and meet Lois Lane. It meant that he was supposed to be launched in a pod across the abyss of space so he could reach this planet.

It meant that Krypton was supposed to die.

Kara wasn’t aware of the tears threatening to fall from her eyes until Kal suddenly pulled her into a hug, her face pressed against their family crest. She clung tightly to him, glad she could use her actual strength as her hands gripped the fabric of his cape.

“Does she make you happy?” she mumbled.

“Yeah,” Kal answered, his voice surprisingly hoarse. “She does.”

Kara nodded into his chest, squeezing her eyes shut.

For both of their sakes, she didn’t ask any more.

A week later, Kal stopped by with a small metal box. It was welded shut and had a peculiar, serpentine symbol emblazoned on the top.

“That’s… that’s my Brand,” Kal explained softly, presenting it to Kara.

She wordlessly took the box from him, but before she could retract her arm, Kal gently placed both his hands over hers.

“Open this when you’ve found the one for you,” he said with a small smile.

Kara nodded numbly, but all she could think was that maybe she never would.

Maybe she would never want to.

* * *

By the time Kara had her first official team up with Superman, she was able to look at the crest on Kal’s chest without feeling a flicker of pain. It had been over a decade after all, a decade in which she had to focus on learning how to control her superhuman powers and trying to act like a completely normal, nondescript person. Supergirl didn’t fit the latter description, but she was more than proud to save the _Venture_ with her cousin at her side.

Kara Danvers of Catco Magazine was equally eager to tag along with Clark Kent on his visit to Luthor Corp’s National City branch. The idea of meeting Superman’s nemesis’ little sister wasn’t exactly a pleasant one, but Kara jumped at the prospect of working with Kal to scope out a potential danger to him and National City. She braced herself for some sort of smooth talker, ready to pull the wool over their eyes with classic, villainous power plays while barely hiding an inner megalomania.

Except Lena Luthor wasn’t like that at all.

The young CEO was sharp and spoke with barbed wit, biting back at Clark’s snippy comments and pointed accusations. However, she was also straightforward and to the point regarding the suspicion aimed at her. What caught Kara’s attention the most though, was the earnest and steadfast way that she spoke about saving Luthor Corp and turning her company around.

“I’m just a woman trying to make a name for herself outside of her family. Can you understand that?” Lena said.

And Kara could. She could understand wanting to step out of the shadow of a relative to establish herself as her own person. She could understand wanting to mend the shattered legacy left behind by a fallen family. She could understand wanting–  _striving_ to become a “force for good” against all odds. Despite Clark’s clear mistrust of Lena Luthor, Kara could understand.

Their first meeting ended without much resolution on either side, Clark taking Lena’s offered information with a simple farewell. Their second meeting wasn’t that enjoyable either between Supergirl getting blasted by a drone and having to make sure that Lena and her pilot were safe.

Their third meeting topped the prior one. While Kara admired Lena’s unwavering determination to proceed in spite of any fear, the threat to the CEO’s life was very real as evidenced by the explosions triggered partway through her speech. Saving a building was harder than saving a helicopter, and there was the chaos happening below in the main plaza. Supergirl nearly received the Kryptonian equivalent of a heart attack when she saw Alex in Corben’s clutches, but then Lena herself stepped in to stop the man with a well-aimed bullet.

Kara was happy for the CEO when they met for the fourth time, Kara once again tagging along with Clark. He was much more amiable this time around as he presented Lena with his Daily Planet article announcing the rise of L-Corp and praising her bravery during yesterday’s attack. She watched with a pleased smile as Clark apologized to her sister’s savior, admitting his wrongful judgment.

“What about you, Miss Danvers?” Lena asked, suddenly directing her attention to Kara. “I didn’t see your name on the byline.”

It took Kara a second to gather her bearings. “U– Uh,” she stammered. “Well, like I said, I'm not a reporter.”

“You could’ve fooled me.”

Kara blinked, and something inside of her shifted.

It wasn’t a groundbreaking change or anything, and it wasn’t as though the entire world had spontaneously clicked into place. It was a small, subtle feeling, more akin to the simple satisfaction of sliding a novel back in its slot in a bookcase. Even so, Kara pondered over Lena’s words and the possibilities implied as the CEO returned to her desk.

“I hope this isn’t the last time we talk,” Lena said.

“… I hope not either,” Kara agreed, a grin spreading across her face.

When Lena returned the smile, Kara suddenly wanted to dig around her brain for something to say, something that would give her an excuse to prolong their meeting. Unfortunately, she felt Clark move away, no doubt about to leave the office. She withheld a sigh, knowing she had no choice but to follow her cousin.

Kara’s hand twitched at her side with the desire to reach out towards Lena Luthor, but she refrained from doing so and turned away.

She refrained, but she began to wonder.


	2. In Which They Touch

Kara was Supergirl when she met Lena Luthor for the sixth time, not that she was counting.

“Supergirl... To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Despite her polite words, Lena’s clipped tone and crossed arms were a clear indicator that she wasn’t actually pleased to see her guest. Her back was straight and her eyes were almost cold as she regarded the alien on her balcony. It was the ‘almost’ that kept Kara from scurrying away like an unwanted rat. That, and the fact that she was Supergirl. Supergirl didn’t run from pretty CEOs, no matter how aloof and icy they were.

Lena narrowed her eyes just a fraction, and Kara quickly scrambled for an excuse.

“I just wanted to check in on you,” she said with what she hoped was a charming smile. “We haven’t had a chance to talk since Corben’s attack.”

Something in Lena’s expression softened. “That woman—the one that saved my life—I trust she’s doing well?”

“She is, thanks to you,” Supergirl confirmed with an emphatic nod.

“Glad to hear it.” Lena stared at Supergirl for a second before quietly clearing her throat. “If there’s nothing else I can help you with…”

Her eyes flicked towards the National City skyline as a subtle dismissal. Supergirl chose to ignore it.

Honestly, Kara wasn’t sure _why_. Something had compelled her to fly to L-Corp on this fair Monday evening, drawing her to Lena like a moth to a flame. That same something was currently keeping her rooted to the Luthor’s balcony like a ship anchored to the sea, and she was rather willing to follow that instinct despite Lena’s less than warm reception.

Knowing she couldn’t just stand there like an idiot, Supergirl wracked her brain for another conversation point.

“I hear you were Kara Danvers’ first interview,” she hastily blurted out.

“Oh. So that’s why you’re here,” Lena chuckled, though it was harsh and came out more like a scoff than anything else. “The alien detection device.”

Supergirl internally winced, cursing herself for choosing what was obviously a sore topic. After all, the interview regarding the device in question had taken place not even a day ago. Kara wanted to smack herself for that one, but that was unbecoming of the Girl of Steel, so she quickly plastered on what she prayed was a reassuring smile.

She didn’t bother sugarcoating it. “Kara Danvers wasn’t too happy when she first told me about it,” Supergirl admitted. “But stuff happened and we discussed it and…”

Kara gave a useless, vague wave of the hand that earned a raised eyebrow, but she was secretly glad when Lena’s posture relaxed just a bit. There was a hint of relief in the way Lena tilted her head, so Supergirl pressed on.

“Well, long story short, there _are_ dangerous aliens out there—I would know—and she understands the merits of your device.” Supergirl leaned forward slightly and flashed a grin. “Just between us, I think you’ll like her article.”

Lena chuckled again, but this time it was genuine enough to send a proud flutter through Kara.

“I find that a little hard to believe considering how passionate she was about her pro-alien views, but if you of all people say so…” Lena uncrossed her arms with a small smile. “Thank you for letting me know. That’s a big weight off my shoulders.”

Supergirl furrowed her brow in confusion. It was reasonable for Lena to have worried about what Kara was going to write, and the reporter’s first draft was proof that those worries weren’t unfounded. However, there was something about Lena’s words that seemed to indicate that this was more than just potential bad press.

Lena looked away from Supergirl towards the rest of National City as a hand came up to brush the back of her neck. The CEO visibly inhaled before answering Supergirl’s unasked question.

“I don’t know what it is about her,” Lena said slowly. “But there’s something inside of me that doesn’t like the idea of disappointing Kara Danvers.”

And suddenly Kara could understand the drive that led her to Lena tonight.

Before she could accidentally let slip that the feeling was mutual, Supergirl bid Lena farewell. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome with more inane chatter, and there was a distant yowling demanding Supergirl’s attention.

Thinking back to a missed chance earlier in the day, Supergirl considered giving Lena a handshake as a goodbye. However, much like the beginning of their interview hours ago, Lena didn’t seem to share the same desire, so Kara held back. Curiosity rose up in her, but she could figure that out another time.

Duty called.

* * *

Alex received her Brand in a dingy alleyway on a Thursday afternoon.

It wasn’t the most romantic of settings, which was made obvious by the repugnant scents that hit Kara as soon as she landed on the scene clad in her Supergirl regalia. Her nose automatically crinkled in disgust and thoughts of dinner abandoned her when the smell of something akin to a year-old rotten egg drifted her way. Hoping her disgust wasn’t too obvious on her face, Supergirl carefully made her way towards her sister.

Alex was crouched near a dead alien slumped against a trash bin that probably hadn’t been emptied in over a month. There was another person standing nearby that Kara recognized as Detective Maggie Sawyer from the NCPD. The two were engaged in a rapid-fire discussion of the corpse before them, so Kara decided to keep quiet rather than interrupt their parallel trains of thought.

Supergirl grinned in pride when the pair soon reached a similar conclusion about their case. She was just about to announce her presence when Maggie held out her hand to Alex, ready to help the agent stand up.

Alex took the offered hand, and that was when things changed.

Both women suddenly jerked back from each other as if they had been electrocuted. Alex nearly fell over from the shock, though she managed to secure her footing as she clutched her right shoulder. Maggie did the same, her eyes wide as she tugged on the collar of her shirt. Two gasps rang out in the alley and even from where Kara was standing, she could see why.

There was a series of lines adorning a small area between Maggie’s shoulder and neck. The edges of the symbol were redder than the middle, proof that this mark had only just appeared. Alex hurriedly pulled at her own shirt to reveal the exact same symbol in the exact same spot.

It was their Brand.

The smile that formed on Alex’s face was one Kara had never seen in all the years that she spent growing up with her. It reminded her of the one she had seen on Kal so long ago, the one that had been peaceful and serene in a way that Kara couldn’t quite comprehend. That smile only grew brighter as Alex reached towards Maggie’s shoulder, the detective mirroring the action.

“I found you,” Alex breathed out.

“And I found you,” Maggie whispered.

Suddenly feeling like an outsider, Supergirl quietly flew away.

Alex called her twenty minutes later, and it was rather amusing how the legendary Agent Danvers was reduced to mere babbling. Kara was able to pick out phrases like “she’s so amazing”, “we understand each other”, and “everything finally makes sense, Kara!” as she listened to Alex’s euphoric rambling with a grin on her face.

Twenty seconds into Alex’s report about her soulmate’s appreciation of guns, Kara deemed it necessary to interrupt before Alex couldn’t be stopped.

“Alex?”

Her sister immediately paused her rant, though Kara could still feel her excitement through the phone. Shaking her head fondly, Kara quickly asked her question.

“Is being Branded everything you had hoped for?”

There was a pause before Alex gave a reply. She didn’t manage to say anything, but the blissful, _happy_ sigh Kara heard told her all she needed to know.

* * *

“Lena… Can I ask you something?”

It was their thirteenth meeting.

Kara was seated comfortably next to Lena on the couch in the CEO’s office, empty takeout boxes and an abandoned notepad sitting on the table before them. This wasn’t an unusual sight anymore, not after their last few lunch interviews had ended up becoming casual conversations about everything and nothing.

Lena tilted her head with the warm, easygoing smile that she seemed to reserve for Kara.

 “Of course.”

Kara pushed up her glasses, feeling nervous all of a sudden. 

“You once said that Lex refused to be Branded…” She waited for Lena’s nod of confirmation before continuing.  “What about you?”

“Me?” Lena let out a surprised laugh. “I’ve never worn his or Mom’s tacky gloves a day in my life.”

“But you… don’t seem to like physical contact,” Kara pointed out.

She almost wanted to take back her words when Lena’s smile turned wistful, loneliness evident in the turn of her lips.

“Most people wouldn’t touch a Luthor with a ten foot pole,” Lena said. “I’m just saving some trouble.”

A defensive indignation instantly bubbled up inside Kara. She frowned, almost wanting to protest the unfairness of the stain Lex left on his sister, but she didn’t. She knew Lena didn’t need her pity or empty sympathies.

“Good thing I’m not most people then,” Kara said instead. She thrust out her hand, eager to prove her words.

Kara realized the significance of what she had done a split second later. It wasn’t as though she had forgotten, per se, but it had somehow become an afterthought in her rush to show solidarity. A part of her recoiled from her hasty action, yet another louder part reminded her that this was something that she wanted. She wanted to reach out to Lena Luthor, and she had been wanting to for quite some time now.

“You were never like most people,” Lena said quietly. “I’m glad you’re not.”

Lena extended her hand, and it was as if the world had slowed down.

Kara could practically see time break down into milliseconds or even nanoseconds as Lena’s hand moved closer to hers. She could have sworn there was electricity building in the gap between them, though maybe the tingling in her fingertips came from sheer anticipation. Her breath hitched as a part of her forced down a flare of hope, a surge of excitement, a whisper of belonging.

Summoning all her courage as the Girl of Steel, Kara sealed the distance between them and grasped Lena’s hand with determination.

For the first time, their skin touched.

Nothing happened.


	3. Chasing Cars – Initializing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holding Rivers is told from Kara's point of view.
> 
> Chasing Cars is from Lena's supplementary point of view.
> 
> Chasing Cars can either be read concurrently with Holding Rivers in the order presented, or it may be read after Holding Rivers; the choice is yours.

Lena was five when she asked about the Brand.

She knew _of_ it from the fairy tales her mother used to tell her and the books she could get her hands on, not to mention the marks she spotted on the strangers that flitted in and out of her early life. She didn’t _understand_ it quite yet though, the importance it seemed to hold in this world. The significance of soulmates was still out of her reach, so she sought out her new mother in an attempt to receive clarification and, more importantly for her five year old self, have something to talk about.

The Brand, Lillian said dispassionately, was nothing more than a mark of weakness, a crutch that humans relied on as a delusion of security in a life of no guarantees. Despite its permanence, its appearance was arbitrary at best and thus had no true meaning.

That conversation ended abruptly there, Lillian withdrawing all pretenses of attention, but even then, Lena couldn’t help but think that there was more to the Brand than that.

She was proven right in a twisted sense a few years later on the day she and Lex saw Lillian temporarily slip off the gloves she always wore. To both siblings’ surprise and delayed dismay, there was no symbol on the back of her hand to match the one on Lionel’s. Their realization did not go unnoticed by their mother, and the Luthor mansion became deathly quiet on that day.

Lionel stopped by Lena’s bedroom later that night, and Lena found her eyes drawn to his Brand. He must have noticed because he patted her on the head and smiled sadly.

“You are a treasure,” he said quietly as he placed his marked hand on her forehead. “You are my treasure, and I hope that someday you will find the happiness you deserve.”

He then lifted his Brand to his mouth, holding it there for a second, and despite the pain laced between his words, there was a strange tranquility in the smile that never left his face. Lena could only stare as he patted her head one last time before leaving her alone.

As Lena laid there in the darkness of her room, she wondered when she would be able to understand what it meant to be Branded.

She tried not to think of the possibility that maybe she never would.

* * *

Perhaps the first sign of Lex’s gradual descent into madness was him donning black leather gloves that matched their mother’s.

At the time, Lena had thought he seemed so adult-like; he spoke with such assertiveness as he declared that he didn’t need a Brand. If things were meant to meant to be, they would happen, and he didn’t need some symbol bestowed by the universe to tell him anything.

“We all know I'm destined for greatness,” he said proudly. “So I will surpass Dad and become greater than he could ever dream of. And I will attain love on my own terms.”

In retrospect, he wasn’t even of age back then, and what Lena had assumed was self-confidence born of maturity eventually revealed itself to be a twisted obsession with power that wound up corrupting her brother over the years.

By the time Lena realized the severity of the frenzy within him, it was already too late. She could only watch as Lex slipped further and further away from who he used to be, her arguments shut down by insincere assurances and her pleas deflected by meaningless platitudes. There came a time when Lex no longer bothered pretending to listen to her, but before Lena could truly accept defeat, it was over.

Lex Luthor’s trail of destruction came to an end, and Superman himself saw to it that he would be put away for the rest of his life. The day her brother was formally incarcerated, Lena finally let herself mourn for the second loss in her family.

And then she began to pick up the pieces of the Luthor legacy.

The initial weeks following Lex’s sentencing passed by in a whirlwind of action that left Lena with no time to despair over the insurmountable task of saving Luthor Corp that her brother—and mother as well—had dropped at her feet. Maybe that was for the best, Lena thought on one of the few occasions when she wasn’t trapped in meetings, tethered to phone calls, or mired in endless documents. It was better to be lost in all the things she had to do rather than drown in all the things she didn’t want to feel.

Of course, she still felt. The world made sure of that with endless speculations on her morality, accusations of her intentions, and even revulsion at her existence. With Lex locked away and Lillian missing, Lena became the sole target for the public’s grief and fury, and she felt it. By far the most telling sign of her rejection from the world was the wide berth people physically gave her. Not a single person wanted to or dared to touch her, and Lena felt it.

Maybe it was the blood her brother spilled that splashed onto her hands. Or maybe it was simply the fact that no one wanted to risk being Branded with a Luthor.

That didn’t change in the coming years.

Although Lena managed to salvage enough of Luthor Corp so that the company could limp along for at least a while, it seemed that Metropolis would never forgive her for Lex’s crimes. The city’s rage simmered to a quiet but constant loathing, and everyone around Lena continued to keep their distance both metaphorically and literally. The Luthor name was a curse and was cursed here, so Lena made up her mind: it was time to leave.

On what would be her last night in the Luthor mansion, Lena was suddenly struck by a memory from a decade and a half ago.

It was of her and Lex, running through the halls with her chasing after him. He had turned around to encourage her, a cocky grin on his face as he taunted her to run faster. Of course, even Luthor children couldn’t stay out of trouble for too long, and her beloved older brother had run straight into a vase.

“Hey, relax,” he had said when Lena scrambled to put the shards back together in a panic. She had feared Lillian’s potential wrath, but her brother simply smiled at her without a trace of worry. “If anyone can fix this, you can.”

Lena recalled how Lex had sat on the ground next to her and helped her hold the fragments of the vase in place. Their efforts had ultimately been for naught since there was no way they could keep the vase together, but the two siblings had laughed their way through their attempts, and Lena had been so happy that her brother was there to rally and assist.

But that brother was no longer by her side.

Lex was gone, Lillian was absent, Lionel was dead, and Lena was alone.

She was alone, and in solitude she packed her bags and left.

* * *

Lena wished she could say that having Clark Kent visit her in National City was a surprise. It wasn’t so much a visit as it was an interrogation, but all the same: Lena had known it would only be a matter of time. After all, taking Luthor Corp across the country didn’t mean that the never-ending storm around her would magically disperse. Lex’s shadows continued to cling to her like poisoned shackles, and it really was no surprise when they summoned a ghost from the past.  

“Miss Luthor,” Clark called to her just outside her office. “We have some questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

Lena nearly scoffed at his polite stock greeting. She didn’t blame her brother’s former best friend for being here, but it was exhausting to see such a stark reminder of Lex even when she was so far from what she once called home. Still, turning Clark Kent away would do more harm than good, so she let him into her office while explaining her side of the latest conspiracy surrounding the last Luthor.

As Lena fully expected, Clark didn’t even try to pretend to believe her. She almost wanted to roll her eyes at his blatant mistrust and unapologetic sarcasm when even her acknowledgement of Superman’s role in saving the _Venture_ was spun into a taunt about her family. It was clear that her guilt had been all but decided already.

Lena turned to face Clark properly while contemplating how much of her frustration she should make apparent. Before she could say a word, however, a new voice suddenly cut in.

“And– And Supergirl was there too.”

Lena redirected her focus to the third person in the room, a sharp comment on the tip of her tongue.

And then she froze.

Truth be told, Lena hadn’t paid much heed to the blonde woman that had been waiting outside her office with Clark. She had given the stranger nothing more than a cursory glance and then all of her attention went to protecting herself from Clark’s looming accusations. Now that she was looking at the woman though— _really_ looking—Lena wondered how she didn’t _see_ her before.

Despite the woman’s demure appearance, there was something deeper in the blue of her eyes that instantly captivated Lena. It was some sort of keen determination that even her fumbled words couldn’t suppress, and Lena stared, mesmerized by this glimpse at the fire that seemed to burn quietly within this woman.

It only lasted for a fleeting second before vanishing, leaving Lena to wonder if she had only imagined it. She quickly recollected her thoughts before the silence between them stretched for too long.

“And who are you exactly?” she asked, avoiding eye contact as she passed the woman to pour herself a glass of water.

“Um… Uh… I’m Kara Danvers. I’m not with the Daily Planet. I’m with Catco Magazine… sort of.”

This did nothing to lessen the growing curiosity in Lena.

The way the woman– Kara introduced herself seemed so understated. Her stammered response to Lena’s quip about Catco lent credence to the theory that she was just a typical awkward wallflower and nobody of importance, yet Lena found herself doubting that. She didn’t know why, but she was sure that there was more to Kara Danvers than meets the eye. She had to be _someone_.

That would be a mystery for another day, Lena decided. She might even forget about this in due time. There were more pressing matters to attend to and so she brought the conversation to her motives for being in National City while doing her best to return her focus to Clark.

Lena tried to be forthcoming with him in regards to her past and her plans. She knew that Clark might be mentally throwing out her denouncement of her brother’s actions and her intentions for renaming Luthor Corp, but she still had to try. At the very least he—and Kara—appeared to be listening as she expressed her desire to make L-Corp a force for good.

“I’m just a woman trying to make a name for herself outside of her family. Can you understand that?” Lena implored.

“... Yes,” Kara said, igniting a spark of hope for the future in just one syllable.

With that answer, Lena knew: there was definitely something special about Kara Danvers.

* * *

“Don’t believe their lies.”

“Mom?”

Lillian Luthor didn’t even glance at the doorway as Lena stepped into Lex’s office. Instead, the older woman continued shuffling through the papers strewn across his desk, her lips pressed into a thin line of anger and resentment. As always, she moved with a cold efficiency that masked the disappointment and grief Lena was sure her mother felt somewhere inside.

It had been nine days since Lex was put away.

“Mom,” Lena called out gently. There was no indication that Lillian had heard her save for the slight pause in her movements, and Lena looked to the armchair at Lillian’s left out of habit.

It was empty, of course.

Lena let out a slow exhale.

“Clark Kent is in the lobby,” she said. “He says he wants to talk–”

“Did you not hear what I said?” Lillian interrupted in a deceptively calm voice.

Lena instinctively straightened her back. “Don’t believe their lies.”

“Exactly. Clark Kent lies for Superman, after all,” Lillian stated. Acid seeped into her voice as she continued, “He lies and says that Superman is here to help, here to protect us. They lie and pretend that he’s our savior when all he does is take and take and _take_.”

Lena crossed her arms.

“Like how he took Lex, you mean?” she asked, keeping the sarcasm out of her voice.

“It seems you actually can understand,” Lillian chuckled humorlessly, still not looking in her daughter’s direction. “Remember: don’t believe their lies. Superman and all those other aliens are not here for us and we will never be truly safe around them.”

~~~

“You’re safe now.”

The words pierced through the panic and confusion clouding Lena’s mind, cutting past the hammering of her heart and the pounding in her ears. They swirled through her mind and embraced her with a sense of security that settled inside her chest to counter the fear still rushing through her veins.

_Don’t believe their lies._

Lena was vaguely aware of a gentle hand on her shoulder that steadied her as she struggled to regain control of her breathing. A part of her wanted to recoil and throw the hand off, but another side of her yearned to reach out and grab it as though it was her only lifeline.

_Don’t believe their lies._

“Miss Luthor?”

_Don’t believe their lies._

Lena opened her eyes and turned to the blonde that was watching her with nothing but concern in her eyes. There was no trace of the animosity she had been expecting or the arrogance her mother would have warned her of... just sincere worry.

_Don’t believe their lies._

Supergirl smiled.

“You’re safe now, I promise.”

And Lena believed her.

* * *

“You know, I thought Supergirl might have hated me for coming to National City.”

It was almost surprising how easily those words slipped past Lena’s lips, a passing thought—though admittedly a recurring one—turned into an unbidden confession.

Some part of Lena wondered if maybe the years of solitude had finally gotten to her. After spending so long without a single soul to confide in, it was possible that her heart was tired and weary and could no longer fight the loneliness, instead flinging fragments of itself at anyone who would stop and listen.

The person sitting across her gave her a small smile, one with immeasurable sympathy and understanding, and Lena decided that no, her newfound inclination to open up wasn’t due to the weakness of her heart. It had to be because of the endless compassion and companionship of Kara Danvers.

“You’re not your brother,” Kara reminded her gently. “Supergirl knows that. In fact, with all the work you’ve done in just a few weeks... I’d say she’s proud that you’re part of our city now.”

Lena ducked her head with a chuckle.

“You flatter me,” she said.

Kara’s smile widened.

“It’s the truth.”

Lena’s first instinct was to deny and deflect Kara’s praise again, but her friend spoke so earnestly that Lena found herself voicing her gratitude instead.

“Thank you,” she said, her chest swelling with something those two words alone could not convey. “Really, I’m… I’m glad you don’t see me as another crazy Luthor. And as much as I was expecting the opposite… I’m also glad that Supergirl has never treated me like one.”

“You’re more than your family name,” Kara said, and Lena thought back to their very first meeting. “It might take a while, but people will see that in time. I mean no crazy Luthor would put so much effort in developing alien-friendly medical technology, right?”

Kara grinned and gestured to her notepad that detailed their earlier interview. It had long been set aside, discarded as their conversation had taken a more casual turn. Lena’s heart gave a strange flutter at the tiny doodles of the Super symbol and the L-Corp logo sitting at the corner of a page.

“You never know,” the CEO joked as she brought her eyes back to Kara’s. “It could all be part of some nefarious plan of mine. A long con, as they say.”

“I doubt that,” Kara shot back immediately, the corner of her lips twitching. “That seems way too inefficient for your standards, Miss Luthor.”

Lena laughed.

It was freeing having someone to talk to, someone to exchange banter with, someone to just… be around. Lena knew it was a risk to open up so much to a reporter of all people, but Kara never abused that. Kara never exploited Lena’s propensity for sharing more personal thoughts and musings with her; she actually _listened_ and returned in kind, reciprocating the trust Lena placed in her.

Not for the first time, Lena wondered if this was what having a soulmate was like.

That thought stayed with her until Kara left her office.

It would have been so easy to let their hands ‘accidentally’ brush against each other when they both reached for the doorknob. A farewell handshake wouldn’t have been out of the question either. All it would take was less than a second of skin contact and Lena would _know_. With that fact in mind, she took extra care to not let their hands touch as they said goodbye. Despite her curiosity and the hope she tried to tuck away, the chance of tainting Kara Danvers and marring her with a Luthor’s Brand left too sour a taste in her mouth.

As her one and only friend walked away, Lena had to remind herself that maybe it was part of the Luthor destiny to be alone.

Kara challenged that notion just a few weeks later.

She was as considerate and thoughtful as ever when she carefully inquired into Lena’s avoidance of contact. As Lena explained that it was due to people not wanting to touch her rather than the other way around, a familiar fire began burning in Kara’s eyes.

“Good thing I’m not most people then,” Kara said in direct opposition to Lena’s claim, her voice firm with determination.

She extended her hand, and the feeling that Lena could not give word to returned in full force.

“You were never like most people,” Lena managed to say. “I’m glad you’re not.”

Even without thinking about it, Lena reached out. She reached for the offered hand, reached for that extension of hope, reached for possibilities she didn’t dare to dream of anymore.

She reached out for Kara and all the things Kara made her feel, and Kara took her hand.

For the first time, their skin touched.

Nothing happened.

Of course not.


	4. In Which They Yearn

They don’t talk about it.

How could they, when there technically wasn’t anything to talk about?

* * *

The days following their first touch passed by in a blur. It wasn’t as though anything had changed—there was no _reason_ for things to have changed—yet Kara found herself going through the motions of her usual life in a muted haze. Things were still as busy as ever between her dual identities, but most of the hubbub filling her days faded into nothing more than white noise.

Time not spent on her duties as a reporter or a superhero was mostly spent in the confines of her apartment with two reacquainted friends named disappointment and despondency. Kara knew that ruminating in isolation wasn’t exactly healthy, but she indulged herself in the bitter comfort that came with thoughts of things that could have been but would never be. She let the memories and hypotheticals play in her head, knowing nothing would change.

Alex stopped by three days after the handshake. She casually barged into Kara’s apartment laden with food and bearing a bright smile that chased Kara’s musings into the shadows.

“Sister night,” was all that Alex said before dumping her cargo in the kitchen.

Kara was sure that Alex could tell that something was… off, though somehow the older Danvers knew not to probe just yet. Instead, they discussed Maggie Sawyer and the new changes she had been bringing into Alex’s life. The outright giddiness that Alex spoke with at times suited the agent surprisingly well, and Kara felt her own lips curve upwards from seeing her sister’s simple happiness.

Kara did her best to ignore the forlorn sense of loss that nibbled at the corner of her mind whenever a faraway look appeared on Alex’s face. The wave of guilt that immediately followed each instance helped drown it out, and Kara squashed that down as well, determined to not let her own dejection infringe upon Alex’s newfound joy. She opted to focus on cherishing the time they could spend acting like the excitable teenagers they never really had a chance to be.

Alex’s visit easily lasted hours and if there had been any food left, it would have gone cold by the time the agent had to return home. Before she left, Alex made sure to give Kara an extra tight hug as they said their goodbyes.

“Things are changing,” Alex murmured over Kara’s shoulder. “But you’ll always be my sister and nothing will ever get in the way of that. Okay?”

Kara nodded as she reminded herself not to use too much strength.

“Okay.”

Kara kept her sister’s parting words close to her like a security blanket well into the night. For a while, the solace Alex’s company had brought did keep other, colder thoughts away, but it was only a matter of time before her melancholy came crawling back.

She spent the rest of the night staring at her bedroom ceiling with nothing but the moonlight to accompany her. The wistful longing she was getting accustomed to returned to linger on her chest, heavy enough to make its presence known but not to the point where she felt like suffocating. It settled in her bones, seeping inside her lungs until the darkness of sleep finally claimed her.

Kara’s last, half-conscious thought was that the sun would rise eventually. It always would.

* * *

“Something on your mind?”

Kara looked up from her laptop to see a pair of concerned eyes watching her intently. Dragged out of a forest of stray thoughts involving the person sitting before her, it took Kara a second to answer.

“N– Nothing in particular. Why?”

Lena Luthor visibly shifted in her office chair, a small, almost hesitant smile appearing on her face. The subtle worry never left her eyes as she stated, “You haven’t typed anything for almost ten minutes now.”

“Oh.” Kara pushed up her glasses. “I’m just wondering if donuts at 8 p.m. is socially acceptable or not.”

Lena carefully arched an eyebrow, though Kara noticed the twitch in her lips. “That’s never stopped you before,” she pointed out.

Kara pretended to think about this fact, narrowing her eyes. “Are direct donut deliveries allowed in your office?”

Lena laughed, and Kara basked in the familiar warmth that filled her from the sound.

“I’m sure the owner of this building won’t mind,” the CEO said innocently. Her gaze softened as she set down her pen. “Aside from your sugar cravings, is there anything else you need?”

Kara felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards. “I’m fine,” she answered.

It wasn’t actually a lie. Somehow, for some inexplicable but welcome reason, the ache in Kara eased whenever she was around Lena.

All things considered, Kara had expected that being in Lena’s proximity would only aggravate the newest wound sitting under her skin. She even briefly toyed with the idea of avoiding the Luthor until she could sort out the tangles in her heart, but actually doing so was inconceivable. All it took was Lena hinting at wanting some company while she worked into the night, and Kara had jumped at the opportunity without thinking.

Fortunately, it turned out that just being in the same room as Lena brought Kara tranquility she couldn’t find elsewhere. Listening to the CEO mumble to herself was simultaneously amusing and relaxing, and Lena’s steady heartbeat kept Kara’s mind marching forward instead of collapsing in the darkness. Her melancholy was still creeping along somewhere behind her, but it was easier to ignore when Lena was here.

As she watched Lena play with the pen on her desk, Kara wondered how long fate would let her have this respite. Even if she wasn’t the one who was meant to be the closest to Lena’s heart, she could only hope that she would be allowed to stay nearby.

Maybe this was what being a planet was like, always orbiting its sun but never getting too close.

“Earth to Kara?”

The alien with very super senses jerked in surprise, though she managed to catch her computer before it slid off her lap.

“S– Sorry, were you saying something?” Kara asked as she straightened her glasses.

“No, but you were staring off into space again,” Lena chuckled.

Kara automatically pouted. Caught red-handed, there was no way she could confess why she was so distracted today. The reporter cast her eyes around for a feasible rebuttal, her gaze landing on the rather blank pile of papers in front of Lena.

“I might have been zoning out again,” Kara acknowledged with a nod. “But I wonder… How much work have _you_ gotten done in the past fifteen minutes, Miss Luthor?

Lena laughed again. “Not much,” she admitted easily. “I guess I’m also a little… preoccupied, though not with donuts.”

“What’s on your mind?” Kara asked. She put her laptop to the side, no longer interested in pretending to be productive.

Mimicking this action, Lena also pushed her paperwork away from her before sitting back in her chair.

“I was just thinking of something Lex once told me,” she said after a pause. “I don’t think I... truly understood what he meant until recently.”

“What did he say?” Kara asked. She instinctively leaned forward, ready to listen to whatever Lena was willing to share.

“We must seize our own destiny and desires,” Lena recited carefully. “After all…”

The Luthor slowly turned away from Kara, spinning her chair so half of her was facing the balcony. Kara’s eyes were glued to her profile, and she waited patiently as Lena let out a sigh that would have been inaudible to regular humans.

Lena looked back at Kara after a minute of silence, something unreadable in her expression.

“The universe guarantees many things,” she said with a small smile. “But it does not guarantee happiness.”

Kara tilted her head in contemplation.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “You’re right.”

* * *

The raw, undeniable truth that Kara wanted to smother and forget was forced into the open in a bar booth of all places.

Kara had been expecting a night of easy relaxation and fun with the unofficially named Superfriends, which was going to expand to include Maggie once she was officially introduced to Winn and James. The detective was running late due to surprise paperwork, and Kara was tempted to laugh at Alex’s tense but excited fidgeting.

“C’mon,” Kara assured her sister. “You know they’re going to like her.”

Alex rolled her eyes, though her bouncing knee gave away her nerves. “It’s this one I’m worried about,” she said, pointing her beer at Winn.

“Hey, I take offense to that,” the technician grumbled. He stuck his tongue out at Alex before turning to Kara. “By the way, when do we get to meet your soulma– Ouch!”

Winn suddenly yelped as James elbowed him and Alex not so discreetly stomped on his foot. James then cleared his throat, no doubt about to change the topic, but the damage was done.

“What do you mean?” Kara asked. She tried to keep her voice even, but it was probably futile judging from the meaningful looks the three humans gave each other.

James glanced from Winn to Alex before clearing his throat again.

“Listen, Kara…” he said slowly. “We were going to wait for you to tell us on your own time, but y’know… someone’s a blabbermouth.” He gave a flimsy grin and jerked his thumb at Winn for good measure.

Kara narrowed her eyes. “What am I supposed to be telling you?”

“Oh, come on,” Winn whined. “We all know already. Can’t we skip to the part where Lena joins our super squad?”

A section of their table began to splinter under Kara’s fingers. She took a deep breath and forced herself to let go. Her eyes met Alex’s, who gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’s okay,” Alex said. “Remember what I told you? We’ll always be sisters no matter what.”

“Yeah,” James agreed with a nod. “And Winn and I will always have your back.”

Winn also nodded, though with much more excitement. “Which is why we, your very awesome friends–” He winked. “–are totally cool with Lena Luthor being your soulmate.”

Kara suddenly felt incredibly cold.

“She’s not.”

“… What?” Winn said as he blinked blankly.

Kara forced herself to take another deep breath. “Lena’s not– She’s not my soulmate.”

James frowned in confusion. “But we thought–”

“Whatever you guys thought, it’s wrong,” Kara interrupted harshly. Swallowing down the bile building in her throat, she continued, “We’re close, but… She’s not my soulmate, and I– I’m not hers.”

Alex reached over to grab her hand, but Kara abruptly stood up.

“I have to go.”

Kara managed to keep her feelings mostly in check until she reached her apartment. Rather than the tears she was waiting for, a wave of exhaustion hit her as soon as she stumbled towards her couch. She slumped onto it, not willing to fight the ache dragging her down.

The door opened half an hour later to reveal Alex.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Kara muttered even as she slowly sat up to make room for her sister on the couch. She pulled her knees up to her chest and listened to the sound of Alex sitting down next to her.

She heard Alex exhale before the agent spoke up. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry– We’re all sorry, actually, for… assuming.”

“It’s fine,” Kara said bitterly as she kept her eyes fixed on the empty space in front of her. “I assumed too.”

“Is that why–” Alex paused. “… Is that why you’re hurting?”

Kara couldn’t answer—she didn’t _want_ to answer—but her silence said more than enough.

She shut her eyes as Alex carefully shifted on the couch to pull her into a hug. She leaned into her sister’s embrace, pretending that Alex’s presence could shield her from the sadness unfurling in her chest. It took her a moment before she could find her words.

“I just… I thought it was her,” Kara said hoarsely. “She makes me feel the things people describe when they talk about the Brand and I thought… I thought it would be okay if it was her. I thought _I_ would be okay if it was her. I thought I could finally stop feeling like I’m missing something, but then we touched and–”

Kara broke off, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Alex rubbed soothing circles into her back, and she desperately wished her sister could chase the pain away. Knowing that was impossible, Kara gave up on fighting the tears that had been long unshed.

“Nothing happened, Alex,” she choked out. “For once, I wanted to be Branded and… nothing happened.”

The arms around her tightened, and Kara finally allowed herself to cry over what was never meant to be.


	5. In Which They Trust

Kara hoped she would never take flying for granted.

After far too many hours of stagnancy in her apartment, launching into the sky again was like plunging into the ocean on a hot summer day. The instant she zoomed past the clouds above National City, Kara felt invigorated in a way she hadn’t realized she missed. She pushed herself higher, further, faster, enjoying the clear-headed feeling that came with flying for the sake of flying.

Kara eventually came to a stop, suspended under the moonlight with stars twinkling above. Those tiny pinpricks of light were countless and just so far away, yet Kara imagined reaching out to grab them. Maybe she would hoard them, collecting their illumination in a tiny jar for herself to keep, or maybe she would rearrange them, forming constellations of remembrance that only she would recognize.

She snorted at this train of thought, amused by her own childish, impossible fantasies. With a wry grin directed at the moon watching her, Kara let the high altitude winds howl around her for a little longer.

Then, she slowly fell back to earth.

* * *

“Good evening, Miss Luthor.”

“Isn’t 1 a.m. a little late to be considered the evening?”

Supergirl shrugged as she floated in front of the balcony of her friend’s apartment, a light breeze causing her cape to flap in the air.

“Well, ‘good night’ sounds more like a farewell than a greeting, so...”

“The shortcomings of the English language,” Lena acknowledged with a small smile.

Lena’s eyes were a paler shade of green than usual as they locked onto the Kryptonian in front of her. Her head was angled oh so slightly, something that Kara recognized as a sign of contemplation, but Lena shared none of what was on her mind. Instead, she scanned Supergirl intently in a way that made Kara feel strangely exposed.

“So what brings you here?” Lena asked. “Checking in on the local Luthor?”

Supergirl cleared her throat. “Yes, actually. Someone has to make sure you go to bed sooner or later.” She made sure to flash a grin, pleased when that earned her a wider smile.

“I didn’t know tucking in all of National City was part of your job,” Lena joked.

“Not all of National City. Just a select few people… like L-Corp’s workaholic CEO.”

Said CEO’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been speaking to Kara Danvers, haven’t you?”

Supergirl didn’t bother answering. She just continued to smile blithely, tilting her head in a knowing manner.

“You remind me of her, you know,” Lena suddenly chuckled.

Kara stiffened in the air.

“Is that so?”

“Not that many people care about a Luthor’s work-to-sleep ratio,” Lena pointed out dryly. “I’m sure Kara would be nagging me to go to bed if she were here.”

“Well, sleep is important for humans,” Supergirl asserted, placing her hand on her hips. “You need the rest.”

“And you don’t?” Lena paused for a second. Her voice was noticeably quieter when she added, “I’ve seen you flying around at night a lot lately.”

“Yeah, I…” Supergirl sucked in a breath and let it out slowly before pulling up a smile. “Just some stuff on my mind.”

Lena didn’t reply, but her eyes never left Kara’s. Her gaze was no longer searching and was rather gentle instead, conveying a silent offer of a listening ear. Although she wasn’t Kara Danvers of Catco Magazine at the moment, Kara appreciated her friend’s familiar patience. She half-consciously drifted closer to Lena, placing her hands on the balcony railing as she tried to find the words that could express the sense of displacement in her heart.

“I’m… homesick,” Kara said quietly. “Earth is a wonderful home and I’ve met irreplaceable people here, but…”

“It’s not the same,” Lena finished for her. When Supergirl nodded, she asked, “Do you ever talk to Superman about Krypton?”

“Not really. There’s some… stuff we just don’t talk about,” Kara admitted, turning to look at the stars above.

“Do you want to talk about it now?” Lena asked carefully.

Supergirl slowly lowered her head. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“You can begin wherever you want.”

Kara closed her eyes and tried to rewind beyond a decade. She could see fragments of Krypton, snippets of her parents, and shards of the life she used to live. Her heart clenched when she realized how hazy those images were becoming, how those memories were starting to fade together into a singular blur of nostalgia.

Her inability to lock down a starting point sent a flare of panic through her, but Kara smothered it quickly. She focused on the most vivid thing she could grasp at the moment, the feeling of being a little girl on Krypton—the feeling of being Kara Zor-El.

“I miss the person I used to be,” she suddenly said.

Lena’s hand shifted on the balcony, moving closer to Supergirl’s though she stopped right before their skin could touch. Still, Kara could feel the warmth of her friend through the tiny gap between them.

“Tell me about her,” Lena said softly.

And Kara did.

* * *

It was all too easy to fall into the habit of seeing Lena practically every day. Kara Danvers continued to drop by L-Corp on a semi-regular basis, and when she couldn’t find the time to do so, Supergirl was likely to stop by Lena’s place for more nightly chats. On some days, Kara saw Lena several times in the span of mere hours, although with different personas.

Kara’s increased visits did not go unnoticed by her sister and friends. James was one of the first to say something about it, calling out to Kara after she returned to Catco one early afternoon.

“Enjoy your lunch with Lena?” he asked with a smile. Before Kara could answer, he commented, “You’ve been spending a lot of time with her lately.”

“Y– Yeah, that’s true,” Kara replied, her hands darting to her glasses.

She fumbled over finding her next words, hoping that James wasn’t planning on revisiting that night in the bar. He seemed to detect her apprehension since he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” he said when Kara looked up at him. “I just wanted to say that I’m happy to see you smiling again. That’s all.”

Winn shared a similar sentiment, flashing reassuring thumbs up whenever Kara flew out of the DEO at the end of a day. Alex was more vocal about things; she would periodically ask about Lena’s well-being, not to the point of prying but enough for Kara to know that her sister’s inquiries were more than just a cautious courtesy.

Kara appreciated their unspoken understanding, which made it sting all the more when she heard J’onn’s response to the news that Lillian Luthor was behind Cadmus.

“We should bring Lena Luthor in.”

Kara immediately dashed over to where the Martian was conversing with Alex. Papers fluttered in a trail behind her, blown off the desks she passed, but she couldn’t care less as she crossed her arms in defiance and disbelief.

“What did you just say?” she asked sternly.

J’onn eyed her evenly for a second before repeating himself. “I said we should bring Miss Luthor in–”

“Absolutely not.”

Winn blinked, swiveling in his chair to look at the two extraterrestrials. “No?”

“No!” Kara objected, turning her glare on him instead. “Why would you even– Lena’s done nothing but help National City since she’s arrived and she’s not like her family–”

“Supergirl,” Alex tried to cut in, holding up her hand. “We understand–”

“No, you don’t!” Kara inhaled sharply. “If you understood then you would know that she is nothing but good. She’s my friend and I’m not going to let you guys just arrest her–”

“Supergirl,” J’onn interrupted loudly. “Nobody’s arresting anyone.”

Kara’s frown turned into one of confusion. “But you just said…”

J’onn visibly withheld a sigh, crossing his own arms as he cleared his throat. “I meant we should bring her in for her own safety,” he explained dryly. “And to see if she could be of assistance.”

“Oh.” Kara deflated immediately when she processed his words. Clearing her own throat, she moved one hand to her hip as the other gestured uselessly in the air. “Well then… Go on.”

Supergirl didn’t miss the look that Alex and J’onn exchanged, and her ears definitely caught Winn’s barely suppressed snicker. Embarrassed at her own unwarranted outburst, Kara was glad when their attention returned to the latest Cadmus intel. She took a deep breath to chase away the remnants of the tide of protectiveness and vexation that had risen in her.

“You know…” Kara said to Winn when Alex and J’onn began discussing more administrative and tactical matters. “You guys are all pretty... chill about Lena.”

“Psh, of course we are,” Winn scoffed. “I mean we all thought she was your… _y’know_ for a while, so we’re all used to the idea of Lena not being some evil overlord.”

Kara snorted at the image of Lena standing atop L-Corp, cackling like a madwoman.

“You can say the word out loud,” she told her friend. “I’m not going to bite your head off or anything.”

“Are you sure? I– I mean great!” Winn amended hastily when Kara frowned at him. “Anyways, even if she’s not your soulmate, she doesn’t look like Lex 2.0, so…”

“Of course she doesn’t,” Kara said, pretending to be offended on the CEO’s behalf. “She has much better hair, for starters.”

Kara grinned as Winn burst into laughter, though they both quickly schooled their features when Alex sent them a disapproving look. The agent glanced between the pair before placing her hands on her hips.

“If you two are done,” she said, “We need to figure out how to break the news to Lena.”

Kara’s prior mirth trickled away instantly. Well acquainted with Lena’s preoccupation with saving the Luthor name, her heart sunk at the thought of what this revelation would mean to her friend. She sighed, already bracing herself for the looming conversation.

“I’ll tell her,” Supergirl said, straightening her back. “I can go right now.”

J’onn nodded with approval. “Good idea. This breach in Cadmus’s servers won’t last forever.”

He stopped Kara right before she flew out of the DEO by placing a firm hand on her shoulder. As she turned to look at him, she saw Winn’s thumbs up and Alex’s small smile from over his shoulder.

“Good luck, Supergirl,” J’onn said.

The Girl of Steel smiled, warmed by their different forms of encouragement. She nodded quickly to show her gratitude, and then she took off into the sky.

* * *

Kara’s elevated spirits began sinking the closer she got to L-Corp. The flight was only minutes at most, yet Kara’s mind drifted in that brief period. It wandered from Lena to Lillian to Lex before jumping backwards in time, pulling up memories of a different family name tarnished by the sins of those long gone.

Kara’s fist tightened in the air in front of her and she almost wished she could forget the distinctive, acrid taste of betrayal. It ghosted across her, foul and bitter, and she knew that even if it faded, it would never go away. She had half a mind to just turn around and spare Lena the truth, but she forced herself to fly onwards.

The last Luthor greeted her with a bright smile as soon as she stepped into her office, and the words came tumbling out of Supergirl before she could stop herself.

“Your mother, Lillian… She’s in charge of Cadmus.”

Lena’s face immediately hardened into a mask, her smile slipping away as she stood up and walked towards the counter running along the side of her office. Supergirl maintained a respectful distance and watched as the CEO poured a glass of water that she didn’t drink.

“You’re saying that my mother is in charge of a xenophobic, terrorist organization,” Lena stated, her back still turned to Kara. “How fitting for a Luthor.”

“You know I wouldn’t lie to you about this,” Supergirl insisted. “There’s documents and audio logs and…”

“I’m sure there’s ample proof,” Lena replied stiffly. She turned around, not looking at Supergirl as she strode back to her desk. “After all, she’s certainly not in National City for her daughter's sake.”

Kara suddenly wished she was here as a reporter, not a superhero. That way, she could wrap Lena in her arms or at least offer a comforting hand, but Supergirl was forced to stay in her place without touching Lena.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know how much she means to you even if…”

“Even if I mean nothing to her.”

Kara lowered her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Lena murmured, finally looking at Kara again. The CEO forced a smile on her face. “Besides, this isn’t about me. Just tell me what I can do to help you stop whatever Cadmus is up to.”

Supergirl sighed before squaring her shoulders. “The DEO—the people I work with—they’d like for you to come in and help sort through the intel we got. Find out where Cadmus is getting their resources, figure out how to stop their tech, stuff like that.”

Lena nodded, and Kara was relieved to see the pain in her eyes be replaced with a familiar spark of determination.

“I’ll help in any way that I can,” Lena promised before letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Honestly, I’m surprised that this… DEO would actually work with a Luthor.”

Supergirl took a step forward.

“They trust you,” she asserted. “ _I_ trust you.”

“Do you?”

Rather than a challenge, Lena’s question almost sounded like an admission of defeat. Kara gritted her teeth at those two words and the sad smile playing at Lena’s lips. Relaxing her jaw, Kara drew herself up as inspiration suddenly struck.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Lena’s eyes narrowed just a fraction and her head tilted just a bit. She nodded wordlessly.

Supergirl clenched her fists, hoping she wouldn’t regret her next action. Trusting her feelings and the belief she had in the woman in front of her, she let loose her truth.

“I’m Kara Danvers.”

Silence flooded the office.

It suddenly occurred to Kara a few seconds too late that dropping two metaphorical bombs on Lena one after the other was a hasty miscalculation at best and a careless cruelty at worst.

Varying emotions flitted across Lena’s face, though they were all too fleeting and miniscule for Kara to decipher. With a sinking twist in her gut, she realized that the predominant expression on her friend’s face was that of hurt. Her nausea only grew with the reminder that this time _Kara_ was the source of Lena’s pain.

Kara braced herself, ready to be verbally thrown out of Lena’s office, but the next words she heard came out as a whisper.

“How could I have been so _blind_?”

Evidently, that question was rhetorical when Lena shook her head before Kara could reply. Anger could be heard in her voice, and Kara mentally flinched upon realizing that part of it was directed towards Lena herself.

“The signs… they were all there and I didn’t see them.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara blurted out. “I–”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Lena demanded.

“Because I want you to know that I trust you. With my life.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me before?”

Kara froze at Lena’s biting, accusatory tone. She stared at the CEO for a second before turning away, suddenly unable to continue looking at her friend. The mantle on her shoulders felt far too heavy as she moved towards the window to look out at the afternoon sun. Shutting her eyes, she let out a sigh before answering.

“You see Kara Danvers even if she’s not wearing a cape. And you understand that Supergirl’s more than her cape,” Kara explained. Her eyes met Lena’s in the reflection of the glass window. “You let me be both of them in a way that nobody else does.”

“Which one is the real you?” Lena asked quietly.

“Neither–” Kara cut herself off, shaking her head. “Both. They’re both part of me.”

Lena’s expression softened, and part of her cold demeanor melted away to show a glimpse of the warmth that Kara was starting to miss. Before either of them could say anything, however, there was a bang in the distance.

“I need to go,” Supergirl said immediately. Her ears were already tuned in to the sounds of surprise and panic, though she didn’t forget about her friend. Pausing on Lena’s balcony, she said, “Alex can come by later to pick you up if you still want to help.”

“Of course,” Lena nodded.

Kara was glad to see that Lena’s prior anger seemed to have given way to a more calm, balanced expression. Still, she didn’t know how big a rift had just formed between them, so Kara quickly searched for something to say before they parted ways. Tired of apologizing and guessing that Lena would grow sick of hearing those two words, she opted for a different phrase.

“Thank you.”

* * *

Lena was at the DEO by the time Kara returned from dropping off a pack of goons at the police station. Supergirl couldn’t see her through the building’s lead-lined walls, though she could hear her heartbeat, steady and strong. She was speaking rather quickly by human standards, discussing something about Cadmus’s firewalls with Winn.

Kara found the pair near the main lobby of the base, chatting animatedly. She considered going over to say hi at the very least, but she changed her mind and headed towards Alex instead. While not interrupting their work was part of the reason why she was steering clear of them, Kara acknowledged that her real reason was to give Lena space.

The Kryptonian snorted at herself when she realized that the path she was taking led her right past Winn and Lena anyways. As if on cue, Lena looked up from a document and their eyes met.

Kara’s breath lodged in her throat and she practically turned into a statue in the middle of the DEO. Lena then gave her a small, tentative but genuine smile and Kara could move and breathe again. She couldn’t control the grin that spread across her face, and she carried it all the way to where Alex was waiting to speak with her.

“I guess I don’t need to tell you that she’s not mad at you,” Alex commented upon seeing the look on her sister’s face.

Sure enough, Lena gave her another warm smile when they crossed paths a little while later.

“I was wondering something,” the CEO said casually as they made their way to a more secluded part of the DEO.

Kara nodded eagerly, glad to be talking to her friend. “Ask away.”

“Kara Danvers is your adopted name,” Lena stated. “And Supergirl is your superhero name.”

“Right,” Kara confirmed as they came to a stop next to a window. The sun was setting now, illuminating them in a sheen of red. She thought it was rather fitting as she guessed where Lena was going with her line of thought.

“So what’s your original name?” Lena asked. “If you don’t mind telling me,” she added quickly with a hint of unease.

Grinning at her friend’s thoughtfulness, Kara subconsciously stood straighter and her family crest glinted faintly under the tint of sunset.

“Kara Zor-El.”

“Kara Zor-El,” Lena enunciated carefully, and Kara was sure that nobody on this planet—or any other world—could possibly say her name the same way Lena did.

Lena reached out with her hand, though rather than grabbing it in a handshake, Kara decided to entwine their fingers instead. Lena laughed softly at this action before giving a firm squeeze.

“Nice to finally meet you, Kara Zor-El.”


	6. Chasing Cars – Synthesizing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, in case you're still wondering by the end of this interlude, Nothing Happened™ at the end of the previous chapter, heh.

She should have been used to it by now.

She should have been used to this by now.

As Lena made her way back to the safety of her office, all she could think was that she should have been used to her mother’s absolute indifference towards her by now.

She walked briskly past her assistants’ desks, trying to conceal her emotions even as she battled disappointment in her mother and disappointment in herself. Her frustration took the form of bile in the back of her throat, and she prayed that none of it showed as she issued instructions to not be disturbed. As soon as someone confirmed her orders, Lena quickly retreated into her office and closed the door so she could sort out her thoughts alone.

Alone, as she was meant to be.

Lena sighed as she dropped into her chair, eyes closed. The beginnings of a headache were starting to build at her temples, which only served to aggravate the turmoil she was feeling from learning that her mother was coming to National City tonight.

Leave it to Lillian Luthor to not say a single word to her adopted daughter, Lena thought dryly. She wouldn’t have found about Lillian’s impending visit were it not for the offhanded comment a board member—a relatively weak and unimportant one, at that—had made during a meeting ten minutes ago. It had caught Lena off guard, to her shame, and all she could do now was wonder if or when Lillian would show up, criticize L-Corp, take what she came for, and go straight back to ignoring Lena’s existence.

A knock on the door made Lena’s heart jump with dread, but she quickly consoled herself with the fact that Lillian should still be on a plane.

“I thought I said I wasn’t to be disturbed,” she said coldly, her eyes still shut.

Her visitor let out a short but familiar chuckle.

“You also said I was to be shown in whenever possible.”

Lena’s eyes flew open in surprise to see a blonde standing by the doorway with a hesitant smile on her face.

“Kara!” Lena exclaimed. “I… I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yeah, um…” Kara’s eyes flicked around the office before returning to Lena. “I thought I’d drop by, you know? It’s been a while.”

It had been sixteen days, to be exact, since they last saw each other. Lena wasn’t deliberately counting, but she had gone from seeing her friend once every few days to over two weeks of nothing. While she knew the reporter was swamped with work and other things—the hint of weariness in her eyes and the slight sagging of her shoulders were proof of that—the minute void left by Kara’s absence constantly lingered in Lena’s mind.

She missed her.

It was a foreign feeling, almost as alien as having a friend in the first place. It wasn’t entirely unwelcome though, and Lena secretly coveted the bittersweet sentiment of having Kara Danvers dear to her heart.

_If only they were–_

“Yeah,” Lena simply agreed. “You’re always welcome here though.”

Kara ducked her head briefly, her hands darting to her glasses, and when she looked up again, her eyes were soft with gentle affection.

“I… Thank you.”

Lena’s heart skipped a beat.

Wordlessly, the two friends took their usual sides of the office couch. Neither commented when their shoulders brushed and Lena thought that Kara actually shifted closer, their arms just barely pressing together. She smiled at the contact, enjoying the momentary silence that lasted until they both suddenly spoke up at the same time.

“So how are you–”

“How have you–”

Kara laughed and nudged Lena with her elbow.

“You first,” she offered.

“If you insist,” Lena chuckled. She began playing with her own fingers. “I just... wanted to ask how you’ve been. You seem tired.”

Kara let out a deep sigh.

“I am,” she admitted. “Snapper’s out to get me or something so work has been rough, and there have been some, um, family problems lately.”

Lena automatically shifted to face Kara more directly, ready to offer any possible assistance or consolation. Before she could do so, however, Kara straightened her back and pushed up her glasses.

“I think things are okay now though. And if they’re not…” Kara turned to Lena with a rueful smile. “They will be.”

Lena carefully placed her hand over Kara’s. Her heart sped up when her friend moved from the touch, but rather than pulling away, Kara merely flipped her hand over to entwine their fingers. Emboldened by the gesture, Lena gave a small squeeze of support.

“I believe in you,” she said sincerely. “I know that whatever it is, you’ll make it through.”

“... Thank you,” Kara murmured. She cleared her throat before continuing. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How are you doing?”

‘Fine’ would have been the easy and polite answer. ‘Fine’ would have meant that Lena could forget about her mother for a little longer. ‘Fine’ would have let her hide behind a mask of normalcy and pretend things were okay. Then again, Kara somehow had a way of seeing through her and seeing things left unsaid, and Lena doubted she could get away with the lie.

“My mom’s coming to National City tonight.” Lena rushed out the words before she could take them back. Once freed, the rest came tumbling from her lips. “She didn’t tell me a thing, so I don’t know when exactly she’ll get here or what she even wants. All I know is that she… She still doesn’t care.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said quietly. “You deserve so much more than this.”

Her hand left Lena’s, but the missing warmth was replaced by the weight of her arm around Lena’s shoulders. She slowly pulled the CEO closer, and Lena allowed herself the comfort of leaning into her friend.

“I don’t know why this bothers me so much,” Lena muttered. She then let out a humorless laugh. “Maybe it’s the thought of working alone here all night until she decides to show up.”

“You don’t have to be alone.”

Lena pulled away slightly to see a grin forming on Kara’s face.

“Give me like… twenty minutes to check in at Catco and grab my laptop. I can do my work here– If you don’t mind, I mean,” the reporter added hastily.

This time, a genuine laugh escaped from Lena. “Of course I don’t,” she said. “You’re _always_ welcome here.”

“Good,” Kara nodded decisively. “Great, actually! I’ll pick up an early dinner for us on the way back.”

As she stood up to leave, Lena hastily grabbed the sleeve of her cardigan.

“Kara?” she called out tentatively.

“Yeah?”

Lena smiled at the gentle concern and kindness she always saw in her friend.

“Thank you.”

In the end, Lillian never turned up, but the time spent with Kara was more than worth it.

* * *

“Do you ever… treasure the weight of the Luthor name?”

Lena blinked and lost track of how many stars she had been counting. She glanced to her right where a Kryptonian casually rested with her back leaning against the railing of Lena’s balcony. Supergirl’s eyes were shut as she faced the night sky with her head tilted upwards, a picture perfect image of calmness and serenity.

“Do I treasure it?” Lena asked after a pause.

“Yeah,” Supergirl said. “Like… hold it dear?”

Lena pursed her lips for a second before answering.

“I’m not sure I’m allowed to.”

“What if you are?”

A minute of silence passed between the Super and Luthor.

“I wouldn’t say I hold it dear,” Lena said slowly. “But I’ve always been proud of my family name even with the weight that comes with it. Lex has made that harder these past few years, but…”

Her voice trailed off, and she instinctively glanced towards her companion only to be met with a reassuring smile.

“But?” Supergirl prompted softly. There was no judgement in her eyes, only a mild curiosity and patience that gave Lena the courage to continue.

“The burden he left with me is heavy,” she admitted. “Sometimes it’s almost too heavy… But it’s mine. And a part of me does treasure that for what it is.”

“I understand,” Supergirl said, and Lena smiled at how easy it was to believe her.

The Girl of Steel turned around and rested her forearms on the railing next to Lena. Minus their height difference, the pair mirrored each other as they looked out towards their city.

“My cousin and I are different,” Supergirl said suddenly. “We don’t... think of Krypton the same way, and our love for Earth is different too.”

Sensing there was more to the statement, Lena nodded in encouragement. “I’m listening.”

Supergirl frowned in thought, a small crease appearing between her brows.

“I’m kind of… glad that he doesn’t completely understand what we’ve lost,” the Kryptonian confessed. “I would never wish the pain of that on anyone, really, but at the same time, it’s…”

“It’s a part of you.”

“Yeah,” Supergirl agreed quietly. “It’s a part of who I am and… I feel guilty for saying this, but… I guess I treasure that for what it is too.”

“I understand,” Lena whispered. Simply repeating Supergirl’s words of support didn’t seem nearly enough, so she slowly lifted her hand. The Girl of Steel was by no means fragile, but Lena took great care to be gentle when she touched the Kryptonian’s shoulder.  

Supergirl turned to her, blinking once in surprise, and then a small but grateful smile formed as Lena kept her palm lightly pressed to the heroine’s cape.

“You know… I think the media would have a fit if they found out we were friends,” Supergirl said wryly.

Lena smirked. “Heaven forbid Superman’s cousin and Lex Luthor’s sister talk to each other, let alone comfort and _relate_ to each other.”

Supergirl rolled her eyes before grinning. “I’m glad we do though.”

“... Me too.”

The night became quiet again as nothing more needed to be said. Lena never took her hand off of Supergirl as the two of them stood together, just barely leaning against each other as they enjoyed the stillness of a slumbering city.

As a pair of birds flew past her balcony, Lena’s eyes strayed from the stars to Supergirl’s hand. A familiar idea popped into her head, one that reminded her of possibilities that had been dashed once already. The impulsive desire to touch Supergirl’s skin grew stronger, but Lena forced it away, turning to gaze at the waning moon instead.

After all, there was no way a Luthor and Super could be soulmates.

* * *

It was strange being back in the Luthor mansion.

For someone who had lived here for so long, Lena felt more like an intruder than anything as she wandered through halls that seemed longer and more labyrinthine than her memories. The lights were on, bathing the walls with a cold illumination that did nothing to make her feel more at home. Even so, Lena dutifully put one foot in front of the other despite having no destination.

“Where are you going?”

Lena paused midstep.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

She heard a laugh from behind.

“Don’t recognize your own home?” The man continued without waiting for an answer. “It’s quiet here without you.”

Lena slowly turned around. “It’s quiet in National City without you,” she replied, a corner of her mouth lifting. “Hello, Lex.”

Her brother smiled warmly at her, though he made no move to close the distance between them.

“Lena,” he said, tilting his head with familiar fondness. “You know it’s not my fault you feel that way.”

“Maybe not,” Lena acquiesced. “I guess what Dad used to say is true; it’s lonely at the top.”

Lex chuckled again, shaking his head this time. “We both know that’s not it either.”

The Luthor mansion suddenly became a lot less welcoming, all the lights dimming at once. The ceiling seemed to disappear high above into a distant abyss as the walls constricted and narrowed, trapping Lena in a dark, ornate passageway that she had no way of fleeing. Lex’s calm expression never changed, so Lena did her best to meet his eyes while fighting off the unease rippling through her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice stronger than she felt.

Her brother’s smile widened with sympathy.

“You’re lonely because you are meant to always be alone.”

“Tha– That’s not true,” Lena instantly denied, her protest sounding weak to her own ears. “That’s not true at all, Lex.”

“Come home, Lena,” Lex urged. “You have nobody at your side.”

“You’re wrong.” Lena took a step back, her nails digging into her palms. “You’re wrong…”

Lex ignored her and shook his head slowly. “You are alone now. No one stands by you, no one cares for you, no one–”

“Kara,” Lena choked out. “I have Kara... Kara Danvers. And Supergirl.”

Lex tiled his head, his face blank. Something began glimmering behind him, a faint, faraway pinprick that increased in intensity as the two siblings stared at each other. For an excruciating minute, there was nothing but silence. And then Lex smiled again.

“Oh, Lena...” he said with pity in his eyes. “She is not your friend. Come home.”

Lena opened her eyes.

The sky outside the window was overcast, blotting out the rising sun with an impenetrable shield of clouds. The light that managed to reach her bedroom was pale, highlighting the stark white walls of her apartment and the sparse pieces of furniture she owned. All was mercifully silent, a momentary peace until her phone’s alarm went off and sent the device rattling across her bedside table.

Lena jumped in surprise, quickly sitting up and silencing the alarm through repeated reflex. She was about to set her phone down with a sigh when determination suddenly seized her, and she unlocked her phone to quickly type a message.

Her thumb hovered over the send button as the voice from her dream came floating through her mind.

_Come home, Lena._

Lena quickly pressed the little blue arrow.

_‘Lunch today at 11:30?’_

A reply came back almost instantaneously.

_‘Sure! You can pick where.’_

Lena grinned to herself, but before she could send a heart to show her appreciation, another text came in, this time in all caps.

_‘MY TREAT THIS TIME. FOR REALS.’_

Light laughter bubbled out of Lena’s chest, and as the vestiges of her brother faded back into memory, she silently thanked the world for Kara Danvers and began her day.

* * *

“Your mother, Lillian… She’s in charge of Cadmus.”

Of course.

It made a lot of sense, actually. Minor discrepancies in reports, supposedly false alarms raised in old facilities, other suspect matters that Lena was covertly sorting through… There was some consolation in realizing that she wasn’t dealing with her brother’s imperceptibly long reach from beyond Cell Block X. The truth of why Lillian was in National City was a bit harder to swallow, but Lena supposed it was for the best; if her mother was set on xenophobic terrorism, it was a good thing that she hadn’t stopped by L-Corp even once.

And really, it wasn’t that surprising that the woman who raised Lex Luthor was just like him.

Lena wondered what that said about herself.

“I’m sorry.”

Supergirl had none of her usual grandeur as she stood before Lena with her head bowed. Her eyes were pained and, knowing that the Kryptonian’s past paralleled with hers in terms of familial crimes, Lena had an inkling that Supergirl had insisted on being the one to deliver the news.

As much as she appreciated Supergirl’s consideration and genuine empathy, Lena found a part of herself wishing that the heroine would fly away even if it was just so she could call Kara and seek solace there.

There was no time to waste on wounded feelings, however, so Lena steeled herself for the task of—once again—undoing what her family had wrought.

“Just tell me what I can do to help you stop whatever Cadmus is up to,” she said, already mentally cataloging what information she had that could be of immediate use.

Supergirl drew herself up, her usual resolve returning to her posture.

“The DEO—the people I work with—they’d like for you to come in and help sort through the intel we got. Find out where Cadmus is getting their resources, figure out how to stop their tech, stuff like that.”

Lena nodded and while she was admittedly relieved that she could be considered an asset rather than a threat, she couldn’t help but point that out. “Honestly, I’m surprised that this… DEO would actually work with a Luthor,” she chuckled.

Something flickered in Supergirl’s eyes.

“They trust you,” she said. “ _I_ trust you.”

Lena smiled sadly.

“Do you?” After all, half of her family officially wanted Supergirl and her cousin dead.

Her question only inflamed the Girl of Steel’s determination. A whisper breezed by the corner of Lena’s mind as she stared into hauntingly blue eyes, eyes that seemed to see her in ways she could not comprehend.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Supergirl asked.

The whispering grew louder, warning Lena of _something_ , but all she could do was nod and brace herself for another exposed truth.

“I’m Kara Danvers.”

… Of course.

* * *

True to Supergi– _Kara’s_ words, Alex Danvers was the one who showed up at L-Corp to escort Lena to the DEO.

The agent must have known or at least suspected what happened; she said nothing as she handed over some paperwork to sign, but Lena found it hard to meet the older Danvers’ probing gaze. The silence persisted all the way to the van they were taking until Lena could bear it no more.

“So,” the CEO said sharply. “Since you’re not really with the FBI, is Kara being your sister another cover story?”

Lena began regretting her question even before it fully left her mouth.

Alex visibly stiffened in her seat. There was a hard set to her jaw as she crossed her arms, and the steadfast look in her eyes confirmed what Lena already knew.

“She told you,” the agent said. It was a statement, not a question.

“She did.”

Alex gave a firm nod.

“She’s been my sister ever since she came to this planet.”

Lena closed her eyes and sighed.

That part of Kara’s past hadn’t been hard to consolidate. Truth be told, Lena wasn’t finding much, if any, difficulty in putting together the pieces of her friend that were labeled ‘Kara Danvers’ and ‘Supergirl’. They easily clicked together, forming a whole that Lena berated herself for not seeing. The more she thought about it, the more things made sense, and guilt began coiling in her stomach again.

“I’m sorry,” Lena muttered. “That question was… uncalled for.”

“You’re upset,” Alex pointed out, her voice no longer holding an edge.

Lena chuckled. “Wouldn’t you be upset if your only two friends were actually the same person and you didn’t even realize?”

“Probably,” Alex said, a corner of her lips lifting with sympathy. She shifted in her seat before speaking up again. “She said to me once… that having someone who could care for both sides of her made her feel... free.”

“I know,” Lena said quietly. “She told me that earlier.”

“Then did she tell you how scared she is of losing you?” Alex asked. “You mean a lot to her, maybe more than you’ll ever know. And I’m not saying you have to forgive her, but–”

“I already have.”

“... Excuse me?”

Lena didn’t bother fighting the tiny smirk that slipped onto her face when she saw Alex’s wide-eyed, surprised expression. The resemblance to Kara was quite amusing, and Lena chided herself for daring to doubt their sisterhood even if the two Danvers weren’t related by blood.

“I’ve already forgiven her,” Lena explained, and saying those words out loud made the weight on her shoulders just a bit lighter. “She means a lot to me too, maybe more than she’ll ever know.”

Alex didn’t say anything after that, but there was something akin to acceptance and approval in her eyes. It was slightly unnerving to see that from someone who wasn’t Kara, but Lena took it in stride as they finally reached the DEO.

Alex stopped Lena with a tap on the shoulder right before they stepped into deceptively innocuous building.

“Listen,” the agent said sternly. “If anyone in there gives you any grief, let me know. I’ll take care of them.”

“... Thank you,” Lena replied.

The two women entered the DEO side by side, and Lena suddenly found herself missing Lex.

* * *

“I was wondering something.”

Super– _Kara_ nodded enthusiastically. The late afternoon sun basked her in rays of red that emphasized the angles of her face and highlighted the symbol on her chest. Based on what her friend had said about her home planet, Lena idly wondered if this was what Kara would have looked like on Krypton.

“Ask away,” Kara said.

“Kara Danvers is your adopted name,” Lena pointed out. “And Supergirl is your superhero name.”

“Right.”

“So what’s your original name?” Lena asked. Uncertainty crept into her voice as she added, “If you don’t mind telling me.”

Kara smiled in a way that was neither Supergirl nor Kara Danvers. It sent an unexpected flutter through Lena’s chest, and she prayed that her friend didn’t notice how her heart missed a beat.

“Kara Zor-El,” said the last daughter of Krypton.

“Kara Zor-El,” Lena repeated.

 _Kara Zor-El_ , her heart sang. _Kara Zor-El_.


	7. In Which They Choose

Sometimes, Kara caught herself wondering why she took so long to tell Lena.

Of course, she _knew_ why: there was a freedom in being able to explore different sides of herself in the dichotomy between Supergirl and Kara Danvers, not to mention the easy comfort of just maintaining the status quo. If she was honest, Kara could also admit to the weight of guilt and the threat of rejection that held her back.

These were all things she confided to Lena in one late night conversation-turned-sleepover after the secret was out, and her friend had been generous with her understanding and compassion. Lena’s quick acceptance and gentle forgiveness were part of the reason why it was hard to avoid thinking “what if” at times.

That errant thought came to her again one afternoon when Supergirl was lounging on Lena’s office couch. It drifted in during a lull in her ramble about how today’s alien was awfully crabby, its irritability only outmatched by Snapper’s post-lunch tirade. It was oddly refreshing to be able to refer to both her jobs in one go, and as Lena laughed at the comparison—a beautiful sound, by the way—Kara silently thanked the world for how easy it was to integrate both sides of her life with Lena.

Of course, there were slight changes to their dynamic, though Kara couldn’t find any negative ones.

If Lena occasionally and inadvertently alluded to Kara’s extraterrestrial origins before, the CEO now made underhanded references and surprisingly corny space jokes on a regular basis, enough to earn several fond eyerolls from Kara. Her full passion and thirst for science discussions was now unleashed as well thanks to the knowledge that Krypton was far more advanced than Earth. Kara was more than fine with encouraging Lena’s brainstorming and inquiries; it let her flex her mental muscles while earning her friend’s awe and amazement.

Lena had a different kind of admiration in her eyes whenever Kara flew off for Supergirl duties. Kara was glad that she no longer had to come up with contrived, poor excuses to abandon their meetings. Instead, all Kara had to do was look imploringly at Lena and she would understand, waving off Kara with a supportive and proud smile.

These could all be considered smaller matters in terms of the complex bond between a Super and Luthor, but Kara appreciated them nonetheless. While Kara was the one who had revealed parts of her that had been hidden away, being _seen_ by Lena let her see new sides of her friend as well, and Kara treasured every single facet of Lena Luthor.

Her other friends and family didn’t know Lena nearly as well, though they were eager to rectify that. Lena naturally became a fixture at game nights and was regularly invited to their bar meetups. Lena joked that her popularity during the latter was because of her willingness to pay for everyone’s tabs, but it was easy to see how all the Superfriends welcomed Lena into the fold.

Even now, Kara had an involuntary smile on her face as she watched Lena chat with Winn. The pair of tech experts were tinkering on some device while a computer compiled data on a monitor in front of them. The DEO agents that walked by paid no heed, everyone already used to seeing a Luthor in their headquarters. Kara chuckled when Winn made a particularly horrible pun even by her standards and Lena gave a long-suffering sigh.

Alex cleared her throat loudly.

Kara gave a start and turned to her sister, who was impatiently tapping the papers strewn in front of them.

“The faster we finish these reports, the faster you can go hang out with your pals,” Alex said, her other hand placed on her hip.

“You mean the faster you can go nerd out with them,” Kara countered with a grin.

The corner of Alex’s lips twitched, but before the agent could deny the accusation, there was a clang. Kara’s head immediately turned in the direction of the disturbance. She was a millisecond away from speeding over to her friends, but the sight she saw locked her body in place.

Lena and Winn both gasped loudly, pulling their hands apart as they took a step back from each other. Lena cradled her hand to her chest and Winn’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he glanced between the two of them.

Kara’s chest constricted, and a part of her wondered if it was possible to suffocate on Earth.

She was only half aware of Alex tugging insistently at her arm. Her own fingers were trembling at her sides, and her mind was strangely blank. It was as though a fog had permeated her brain, rendering her unable to move or think anything beyond “ _this can’t be happening_.”

And then Lena spoke.

“So who was it that said we don’t need protective gloves, Mr. Schott?”

Winn gave an embarrassed laugh before glaring at the offending object now abandoned on the table. “I didn’t know it would do that,” he whined. He suddenly gasped again. “So that’s the secret! It transfers energy through skin contact!”

Lena nodded excitedly. She turned to Kara, no doubt about to report their breakthrough when concern replaced the excitement in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Lena immediately asked, rounding the table to approach Supergirl.

Kara let out a shaky breath and tried to smile, though the attempt failed. She closed her eyes instead and focused on Alex’s hand squeezing hers in a reassuring rhythm. She honed her other senses in the darkness and listened to the sounds of three of her favorite heartbeats until she felt calm enough to try again.

“Sorry, I just…” Kara waved her free hand in the air. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Lena asked softly the same time that Winn piped up.

“Wait, what’s going on?” he said, walking over to Kara as well. He glanced between everyone, visibly trying to figure out what he missed, until comprehension dawned on him. “Oh– Did you think– Oh no, no, no, we’re not– Lena and I aren’t–”

“Winn,” Alex cut in sharply. “We’re all good. Right?”

She turned to Kara, who was grateful for this out.

“Yep!” Kara nodded in an exaggerated manner, anxious to put this… misunderstanding aside. “Everyone’s fine and chipper!”

There was a moment of awkward silence in which Kara could feel three pairs of eyes still watching her until Lena let out a chuckle and diverted the topic to a more lighthearted subject.

“Really, Kara?” the Luthor said dryly. “Of all the words in the world… Chipper?”

Kara crossed her arms and huffed.

“English isn’t my first or second or even _third_ language, okay?”

* * *

Red.

That was all Kara could remember of her nightmare.

It wasn’t the nostalgic, bittersweet red that reminded her of what no longer existed nor was it a red that reminded her of the vibrancy of life on Earth. Rather, it was a sickly and pallid red, one that launched her from the depths of her dream and left her feeling exhausted as though she had never slept.

As she stared at her ceiling, Kara was unable to recall the actual contents of her nightmare, though she supposed that might have been for the better. Shards and snippets flashed by, but before Kara could decide if she wanted to grasp them closer or let them go, they slipped away and took that choice out of her hands.

Kara sighed after ten minutes of futile tossing and turning in her bed. Her mind was mercifully quiet tonight, but somehow sleep eluded her despite her weariness.

She got out of bed, knowing where she had to go.

She landed quietly on Lena’s veranda and unlocked the sliding door with practiced ease. Clutching her cape to herself as she stepped into Lena’s bedroom, Kara watched her friend lift her head to look at her midnight visitor. Lena blinked once, twice before dropping back down onto her pillow and scooting over to make some space on the bed.

Kara quickly changed into the sleepwear placed on one of Lena’s cabinets just for occasions like this. She muttered an apology as she settled in next to Lena, her chest swelling with fondness when Lena made a small noise that could be translated as “It’s okay.” Lena proved that she didn’t mind at all when her arms immediately coiled around Kara and pulled her close. Surrounded by warmth and comfort, it didn’t take long for Kara to drift away.

She was the first to wake in the morning, roused by the gentle rays of the sun. For a while, she was content with staying in their shared embrace, their bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. Remnants of her nightmare drifted back though, and Kara slowly detached herself so she could sit up.

Lena stirred not even a minute later, peering at Kara through heavy eyelids. “Good morning,” she mumbled. She yawned adorably before giving Kara a wide, content smile.

Kara never wanted that smile to go away.

“I want you to be happy,” she said. The words felt stiff on her tongue, strained by what had transpired in the DEO just days ago, but the sincere care and honest affection were there all the same.

If Lena found the abrupt declaration odd, she said nothing of it and instead sat up as well, taking Kara’s hand.

“ _You_ make me happy.”

Lena’s words sent a shudder through Kara. It was strange mix of joy intertwined with desire yet tempered with guilt.

“... You make me happy too,” Kara replied after a pause, knowing the happiness she wished for Lena wasn’t the kind she could—should provide.

Some of her lonely inadequacy must have slipped into her voice because Lena’s grip tightened just a bit before easing. Lena then began to trace the ridges of Kara’s knuckles, her thumb following the hills and valleys of her hand.

“You are the only one I have ever really wanted to be with,” Lena said quietly, and it truly occurred to Kara then, the depth of their synchronicity.

It was unfair, Kara thought, how two people could be so aligned with their hearts the same and their feelings mutual… and yet somehow just weren’t supposed to be together. Surely what was between them had to mean _something_.

Kara clenched her free hand and turned to Lena with all the conviction she could muster.

“Just because the world said no doesn’t mean we can’t say yes.”

Lena’s breath audibly caught in her throat in the faintest of gasps, and it was as though the rest of the world had frozen too. There was only the rhythmic thumping of her human heart to indicate that time was still moving beyond the stillness that had settled over the two of them. Kara held her own breath, almost afraid to shatter this fragile moment.

Almost.

It was hard to feel fear with the way Lena was looking at her. There was a hint of shock from Kara’s declaration, plus silent contemplations and calculations, but above all, there was hope. It was the hope that kept Kara grounded as she waited for Lena’s conclusion.

It seemed like an eternity before Lena moved. She took her hand and pulled it from Kara’s grasp only to slowly slide it up Kara’s arm, leaving a tingling sensation on her impenetrable skin. Lena’s hand passed over her shoulder, pausing for the briefest of seconds at the base of her neck, and finally stopped its journey by cupping Kara’s face.

There was a gentle tug at the back of her neck, and Kara leaned forward.

They brought their lips together and in that instant, Kara knew this would be worth whatever pain the future would bring. This first kiss alone was quenching the burning longing in her heart, though at the same time Kara craved for more, more of Lena and more of what was theirs. Lena pressed herself closer, no doubt sharing this need to be with each other.

It took a while until Lena pulled away ever so slightly, her fingers lightly tracing the contours of Kara’s face. “How could this not _be_?” she whispered.

Kara didn’t know what to say or if there even was an answer to that question. She could only move forward again for another kiss, determined to savor this sweetness and warmth.

When their lips met once more, Kara told herself that if she could survive losing Krypton, she could survive inevitably losing Lena.


	8. Chasing Cars – Synchronizing

“Miss Luthor.”

Lena carefully spun around in her chair, turning at a calculated speed that was neither glaringly slow nor betrayed any particular enthusiasm towards her visitor.

“Supergirl,” she greeted with a polite smile. “How may I be of assistance?”

Supergirl walked wordlessly into the office, her steps deliberate and measured. Her face was impassive and she kept her hands hidden behind her back, something rather suspicious for the usually open and forthcoming heroine. She was clearly in no rush to dispel the air of mystery surrounding her, and since Lena wasn’t about to cave either, both parties maintained the silence without ever breaking eye contact until Supergirl fully rounded Lena’s desk.

The Kryptonian cleared her throat.

“I have something of utmost importance to discuss with you,” she said firmly.

Lena forced her lips into a neutral line.

“I gathered as much,” she replied. “Do tell.”

“Some… informants told me that you have not left your office since three in the afternoon,” Supergirl stated. “Is this true?”

“It is.”

“And are you aware of what time it is, Miss Luthor?”

With a cursory glance at her watch to hide a growing smirk, Lena gave a halfhearted shrug. “Eight in the evening, perhaps?”

Supergirl’s stoic demeanor instantly dropped into a scowl.

“It’s almost eleven, Lena,” Kara chided, albeit gently. Not bothering to keep up the pretense any longer, she revealed the object behind her back to be an unsurprisingly large plastic bag no doubt filled with Chinese takeout.

Warmth filled Lena instantly, easily chasing away the weight of her day’s struggles.

“I wasn’t aware it had gotten so late,” she admitted sheepishly. “Thank you for coming by.”

“Well, _someone_ has to feed you,” Kara chuckled.

She wasted no time in setting out the food over the office’s coffee table; although she did apply some superspeed, Lena’s eyes easily recognized that her efficiency was one borne from habit and routine more than anything else. In fact, there was a distinct lack of focus in her eyes, one that sent a twinge of guilt through Lena.

“Didn’t you have a really long day today?” Lena asked even as she took a seat next to her friend. After a brief hesitation, she deliberately took on a joking tone as she added, “You don’t need to babysit me if you’re tired.”

Kara tilted her head, gazing directly at Lena.

“I worry about you, you know,” she said with a lopsided smile and Lena’s heart couldn’t help but swap out the word ‘worry’ with the intimacy of ‘care’.

“I… I worry about you too,” Lena murmured, her soul replacing ‘worry’ with something she didn’t dare to voice.

Kara continued staring at Lena, smile unchanging, until she suddenly moved a hand forward.

If Lena was surprised by the action, she gave no indication of it. Instead, she sat there, unflinching, waiting, and always trusting. Kara’s eyes seemed to scan her face as her hand continued to rise, slowly, carefully, and always kindly. It finally reached its destination, stopping to cradle Lena’s cheek.

“Thank you,” Kara said quietly. “Thank you for… for always being here. For always being you.”

“I could say the same to you,” Lena smiled, ignoring the rapid beating of her traitorous heart.

With the same reverence her friend had shown her, Lena placed her hand over Kara’s.

“Thank you for everything.”

* * *

Falling in love with Kara was inevitable.

Like the sun that rises in the east and sets in the west, Lena was certain that her feelings began long before she could recognize them, and now they were ingrained in her very being, as constant and immutable as the passage of time.

She finally came to terms with this fact in a poorly illuminated back street of all places, though she was only partially aware of her surroundings.

“Y’know,” Lena drawled, her foot lazily kicking aside a stray bottle. “I’m pretty sure you could just fly me home. Then I won’t have to deal with, ah, _gravity_.”

The end of her sentence was punctuated as she lost balance, pitching forward with incredible timing. Thankfully, her companion’s strong hold on her kept her upright.

“I could, but you said you wanted to walk back,” Kara reminded her with a fond grin.

Lena closed her eyes and frowned, concentrating on moving one foot in front of the other. It took her two whole minutes to navigate through the drunken haze clouding her mind and formulate her reply.

“I said that? Why did I say that? Why did you _let_ me say that?”

This time, Kara let out a full laugh. “You said– no, you _insisted_ on enjoying the night air. The weather is pretty good right now.”

“... I did say that,” Lena realized. “What I didn’t say was–”

She quickly snapped her mouth shut.

“Hm? What didn’t you say?” Kara asked, looking over inquisitively.

_I didn’t say that I just wanted to spend more time with you._

“Nothing,” Lena mumbled. “Just that this better help with the inevitable hangover.”

She was pretty sure her foot slipped yet again, but the sturdy arms supporting her never faltered and even seemed to defy Lena’s current nemesis. A pleasant heat spread through her as Kara tightened the grip around her waist.

“I’m still impressed that you let Winn talk you into drinking that much,” Kara chuckled. “What were you guys even talking about?”

Lena squinted at the pavement.

“ _I’m actually kind of glad we’re not soulmates_ ,” Winn had said some point into an alcohol-laden discussion about… something. Something tangentially related to the theory of multiverses, according to Lena’s currently incapacitated memory.

“ _Why is that?_ ” Lena had replied, already too buzzed to bother being offended.

“ _It would’ve been cool if we were_ ,” Winn had slurred. “ _Awesome, even. But like…_ ”

“ _But like…?_ ”

“ _Like I’m pretty sure Kara would have killed me or something._ ”

“ _Kara wouldn’t kill you_ ,” Lena had snorted.

“ _Her 24/7 sad, kicked, abandoned puppy look definitely would_ ,” Winn had said gravely. “ _As I was saying… What was I saying? Oh! Right. Soulmates_.”

Lena suddenly paused in her tracks. The implication of what Winn had said was just now catching up to her, having not registered properly during the actual conversation. Just as she was beginning to question if their exchange was her own drunken imaginations or not, she remembered that Kara had asked her a question.

“Puppies!” Lena declared, whirling around to face her friend.

Sharp movements were clearly not her forte at the moment, and Lena could feel herself tipping backwards due to the momentum of her action. Under normal circumstances, she might have been afraid, but perhaps alcohol was truly liquid courage as she felt no fear, trusting that Kara would catch her.

Sure enough, the Girl of Steel grabbed her gently by the elbow before pulling closer.

“Puppies?” Kara repeated, her voice slightly breathless from her surprise at Lena’s outburst. Her eyes twinkled with suppressed mirth as she asked, “You guys were talking about puppies?”

“Yes,” Lena nodded firmly, her cranium already protesting as she doubled down on her statement. “We were discussing puppies and nothing but.”

Kara’s shoulders shook slightly and her lips twitched upwards. “Whatever you say, Miss Luthor.”

She slowly moved to take Lena’s hands, enveloping them in warmth as she squeezed them lightly.

“Whatever you say,” Kara murmured.

Inexplicably yet inevitably, Lena was seized by the urge to cry.

She quickly dropped her gaze to the concrete beneath them, fighting the miniscule but growing lump in her throat. She was acutely aware of Kara’s eyes on her, but for all her prior bravado and gusto, there was no way she could possibly meet them now.

“Can… Can we stay here for a while?” Lena asked quietly.

“Of course,” Kara said softly. “The moon is beautiful tonight.”

Lena barely managed to choke out a yes, for saying any more would surely spill her heart. The unvoiced feelings she deeply coveted constricted her heart even as they gave her the strength to breathe, bringing with them guilt of all things: guilt for wanting, guilt for dreaming, guilt for yearning.

As the last Luthor though, guilt was an old friend, one that Lena could accept as she finally embraced the truth of being in love.

* * *

“You’re a thief, you know that?”

Lena jumped in her chair, shocked from the sudden ambush. Clearing her throat, she carefully clasped her hands together and placed them on her desk.

“What may I do for you, Lex?” she asked with cold politeness.

“You’re a thief,” her brother stated. He was leaning casually against her office door, the very picture of relaxation despite his barbed words. “Why are you always taking what doesn’t belong to you?”

“I could say the same to you,” Lena replied. “Or did you forget that you’re a murderer?”

“He didn’t forget,” a new, female voice answered from the doorway. “What he does doesn’t erase what you do.”

Lena blinked as she watched someone bearing her own face walk in. Her doppleganger sauntered inside the room, making her way directly to the sofa before sitting down like she owned the place. Technically she did, Lena supposed, though that was neither here nor there.

“I haven’t done anything I shouldn’t,” Lena said. Her voice was less resolute than she’d like, a seed of shame already taking root in her chest.

“Yet,” Lex pointed out. “You haven’t done anything you shouldn’t _yet_ , but you know you will.”

“Not if I–”

“He’s not wrong,” Lena’s clone interrupted with a charming smile. “You’re a Luthor, after all. What you want, you’ll take, even if it doesn’t belong to you.”

“Stop,” Lena snapped, already knowing where this lecture was going. “I don’t need to listen to the two of you.”

“But you do,” Lex smirked. “After all…”

“I’m you,” Not-Lena finished with a dismissive flourish of her hand.

Lena throat suddenly locked down, strangling off whatever rebuttal she was attempting to dig up. The Luthor siblings seemed to revel in her struggle, the two leering at her like hyenas ready to feast.

“That’s enough, you two,” a third voice calmly chided.

Lionel Luthor walked in, and Lena’s throat tightened for a different reason.

“Please excuse my children,” Lionel said, glancing at his heirs, both looking appropriately chastised. “They sometimes forget that the world has more to offer than… this.”

“What do you mean?” Lena whispered. She so desperately wanted to get out of her seat and hug the man she hadn’t seen in years, but she knew that would only dispel the echantment she was currently under.

As if reading her mind, Lionel smiled sadly.

“You are my treasure,” he said, echoing some of the last words he ever said to her. “I hope that someday you will find the happiness you deserve.”

Already feeling her dreamscape slipping away, Lena urgently called out for her father.

“Please don’t go,” she pleaded. “I miss you.”

“I know,” he said. “And that’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

“How could I _ever_ be okay?”

Lionel merely smiled.

Lena woke up.

Warmth surrounded her, a familiar heat that kept her secure and tethered to reality as she scrunched her eyes shut despite the lack of light in her bedroom.

“You okay?” Kara whispered, her arms snaking around Lena’s body.

Kara’s nightly visits were a new occurrence in their daily routines, but it was one Lena sorely welcomed at the moment. Unable to find her words, she settled for clinging to her friend, pressing her face into Kara’s shoulder.

Sleep returned merciful minutes later, and while the contents of Lena’s dream ceased to be little more than an inkling of a memory, she was as grateful as ever for Kara’s steady presence.

The feeling seemed to be mutual, judging by how often Kara stopped by in the middle of the night. Evidently Lena wasn’t the only one plagued by borderline nightmares and insomnia, though she nearly had a heart attack the first time she heard a distinct tapping on her balcony window. Kara had profusely apologized for the sharp uptick in Lena’s heart rate before confessing that she was having difficulty sleeping and would appreciate Lena’s companionship.

How could Lena ever say no?

The two quickly settled into this new habit of impromptu sleepovers, and, almost as if the shadows of her heart actually approved, Lena dreamt less and less of her brother as the days passed. Though she missed seeing her father as well, he was as elusive in her dreams as he had been in life, a seldom and rare visitor. As it stood, Lena would much rather wake up to her best friend’s face than wake up in tears.

“Good morning,” she greeted on one such instance.

Kara appeared quite alert, already sitting upright as she was silhouetted by the waking sun. Despite the shadows caressing her face, her eyes were alight the way they always were when they were together.

There was a pensiveness to her posture though, and some ineffable ache tempered the usual glow of her gaze. Lena could only watch as the unknowing owner of her heart pried her next words from her very core.

“I want you to be happy,” Kara said, and she sounded so _sad_.

Lena slowly sat up, her heart twisting inside her chest from all the things they never voiced aloud. She carefully grasped one of Kara’s hands.

“ _You_ make me happy.”

“... You make me happy too.”

The tinge of hoarseness in Kara’s tone gnawed at Lena. She gripped Kara’s hands tighter even as it chewed away at her heart, chipping away at it second by second. Forcing herself to relax, Lena surrendered to her soul at long last.

“You are the only one I have ever really wanted to be with,” Lena confessed, laying her feelings as bare as she could bear.

Just like that, some hidden dam had broken.

Something reappeared in Kara’s eyes, a quiet determination Lena had seen in Kara Danvers and the steely resolution that she recognized in Supergirl.

Kara Zor-El turned to Lena.

“Just because the world said no doesn’t mean we can’t say yes.”

Lena’s breath hitched.

She had always equated Kara with the sun, with her bright eyes, brighter smile, and brightest heart. Kara was a star, blazing through the darkness and Lena was but a bystander, willingly and hopelessly trapped in her illumination. Yet she could not look away– _refused_ to look away from the hope Kara presented before her.

As the realization of what she was about to do gradually dawned on her, Lena was thankful that the doubts living in her head were silent for once. Indeed, all she could really hear was the pounding of her heart as she carefully placed her hand on Kara’s cheek.

 _I love you_ , Lena’s heart whispered as she gently pulled, waiting for any rebuff.

None came, and she was finally certain that their feelings were aligned.

When their lips touched, Lena was suddenly reminded of all the things Kara had ever said about soaring through the sky—the exhilaration, the rush, the freedom, the power, the _peace_ —and in that moment, Lena thought that maybe, just maybe this was the closest a mere human mortal could ever get to that.

She then thought of Icarus and wondered if how high he had flown could ever be worth the fall.


	9. In Which They Burn

It was so _easy_ being with Lena.

Kara was grateful for how simple it was to transition from whatever they were before to what they were now. Rather than feeling like she was going out of her way to rebel against the universe, it was as though the shackles binding her entire body had faded away and she was free.

Kara was free to hold Lena’s hand whenever she wanted, free to give “see you later” pecks on the cheek without a second thought, free to whisper sweet nothings back and forth, free to be with Lena entirely.

Lingering touches and meaningful gazes were still a thing, though they were now accompanied with stolen kisses and suppressed giggles behind closed doors. On nights when the city was quiet, Kara would drown in Lena and her love and when morning came, they would wake up in each other’s arms, skin to skin like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It wasn’t hard at all to adjust to the new intimacy that neither of them had dared to display before. In some ways, being this close was as simple as breathing and as intrinsic as existing.  

Lena, unsurprisingly, managed to sum up Kara’s thoughts in a succinct manner.

“I think we found it,” she said out of the blue one evening.

They were both in an L-Corp lab, one specifically reserved for Lena’s own private experiments and personal interests. There had definitely been some private and personal moments between the two of them here, and it was a sanctuary for them that wasn’t their homes.

“Found what?” Kara asked as she hopped off a table. “The secret to making Bob wake up?”

She glanced over Lena’s shoulder, a little disappointed when the tiny robot Lena was working on was still inanimate. Lena laughed freely at her resulting pout.

“I already know how to activate him,” Lena said. “I was referring to… us.”

“Oh?”

Kara moved to lean against Bob’s table and was pleased when Lena pushed aside some of her tools so Kara could be closer to her.

“Winn’s been asking me to describe what being together feels like,” Lena explained. “Compared to before.”

“So what do you think we found?” Kara asked as she absentmindedly tucked a loose strand of hair behind Lena’s ear.

Lena turned to her, eyes bright and warm.

“We found the missing puzzle piece—the last piece of us.”

* * *

“I don’t think I have a soulmate.”

Kara uttered this confession one lazy afternoon with the sun low in the sky, illuminating Lena’s high-rise apartment in a muted yellow bordering on orange.

Lena, who had Kara’s head in her lap, paused for a second before setting her book down on the armrest of the couch they occupied. She then took one of Kara’s hands and began playing with her fingers while she patiently waited for Kara to voice her thoughts.

As Lena’s fingers danced between hers, Kara almost forgot what she was going to say. She glanced up at her girlfriend, and the words came back to her when she saw Lena’s gentle concern and silent question.

“Clark, he’s… I’m not like him,” Kara began. “He’s basically lived on Earth his entire life. I didn’t come here until I was older and, before that, I spent so long being lost out _there_ and…”

Her sentence trailed off with a sigh. She could feel the years old agitation start to build in her bones, but it was quickly chased away when Lena lifted her hand and pressed her lips against her knuckles.

“Clark is Kryptonian,” Kara said quietly. “But he’s also more human than I am.”

“So maybe you can’t be Branded,” Lena concluded with a sad smile.

“... Yeah. Something like that,” Kara said, letting her eyes fall shut. She swallowed down the sudden thickness in her throat as she kept herself from saying “ _but you can_.”

Her eyes opened again at Lena’s next words.

“Well, maybe it doesn’t matter,” the CEO said nonchalantly. A slight smirk played at the corner of her mouth when she met Kara’s gaze. “I’d hate to think that Mom and Lex are right about certain things, but… They did always say that soulmates are overrated.”

Kara blinked and then pouted.

“Dang it,” she complained. “I don’t want to agree with them either, but they might have a point for once.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Lena chuckled. She began combing her fingers through Kara’s hair, humming absentmindedly.

Kara melted under Lena’s touch, her eyes once again drifting shut. Her thoughts began to scatter to the winds as sleep teased at the edge of her brain, and a conversation earlier in the day drifted to the forefront of her mind.

“I forgot to tell you something,” she mumbled. “Clark called today. He mentioned you.”

Lena’s hand stopped its movements.

“That’s… new,” she pointed out in a carefully neutral tone.

Kara regarded herself as skilled at reading between the lines when it came to Lena, so it wasn’t hard to detect the undercurrent of tenseness behind her words.

“Don’t worry,” Kara assured her. “He didn’t say much, just asked how you were. Didn’t even ask about L-Corp or anything”

“Oh.” To Kara’s pleasure, Lena resumed her ministrations. “What do you think he wanted?”

“I don’t know.” Kara cracked open her eyelids to squint at the ceiling in contemplation. “All he said was ‘How’s Lena doing these days?’ and that’s it.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you were doing great and then he said ‘great’ and started ranting about how Lois is great.” Kara frowned. “It was awkward. Even for our standards.”

Lena made a noise of amusement before biting her lip. “Have you told him about us yet?” she asked gently.

“... I haven’t,” Kara admitted as she rolled over onto her side. Her arms snaked around Lena’s torso, pulling her closer. “I’ll tell him soon. We Supers are pretty good at keeping secrets from the rest of the world.”

This time, Lena let out an actual snort. Kara grinned at the sound and snuggled into her human. Right as she was considering taking a nap, she heard her name.

“Kara?”

Kara rolled over onto her back.

“Yeah?”

“I love you,” Lena said, her voice soft.

From her position on the couch, Kara could see the sun’s mellow rays shining from behind Lena. It was a beautiful sight, one that Kara swore to cherish no matter how many times she got to see it.

She opened her mouth, but before she could affirm her reciprocal feelings, Lena spoke again.

“I love you, and I’ll always choose you.”

Actions could speak louder than words, so Kara pulled her into a kiss.

* * *

Kara was late.

To be fair, it wasn’t as though she asked an alien to attack right before her girlfriend’s public conference regarding key L-Corp developments. Said girlfriend was incredibly supportive and understanding too, so Kara wasn’t too fussed about upsetting her. Still, Kara vowed to make up for her tardiness later as she zoomed towards the outdoors square where Lena’s announcement was about to take place.

Supergirl arrived in the nick of time, coming to a stop out of view of the gathered attendees. Lena seemed to have some sort of sixth sense as she paused right before stepping on stage, glancing to where her caped hero was floating. A bright smile broke out on Lena’s face when their eyes met, and Kara couldn’t help but beam back, flashing the CEO a pair of thumbs up for silent encouragement.

An almost inaudible “hey” was whispered to the wind before Lena Luthor took center stage with a round of applause.

Kara didn’t have the best view of L-Corp’s CEO, but she could still appreciate how the air around her changed to highlight the respectable qualities of a Luthor: confident, regal, and revered.

The noise from the applause quickly died down, everyone including Kara eager to hear the speech they all came for.

Lena stepped up to her podium and took a deep breath.

The speakers flanking the stage exploded.

All at once, the entire square descended into chaos. The crowd erupted into screams of fright and confusion, some people ducking in place while others scrambled to get away from the blast. The speakers were still burning and to no one’s surprise, the blaze was quickly spreading onto the stage.

Supergirl wasted no time, swooping towards the stage and blowing out the flames as she passed by. She landed behind the podium and a sigh of relief escaped her when she found Lena seemingly uninjured and taking cover.

“You’re safe now,” Kara breathed out as their eyes met.

Lena nodded wordlessly and placed a hand on Kara’s arm. Feeling a reassuring squeeze, Supergirl swiftly but carefully picked Lena up, determined to get her away from any potential danger. As she turned back towards the crowd, she was glad to see the NCPD in action as well, helping the civilians out of the square.

Kara set Lena down next to Maggie and paid half attention as Maggie began checking Lena for any injuries. The other half of her was focused on the rest of the square to see if anyone needed immediate assistance. The situation seemed relatively contained for the most part, and before Supergirl could figure out where she was needed most, there was a voice in her earpiece.

“Supergirl?” Winn called out. “We’re picking up some sort of... bomb signal in the area? See if you can find anything in case things go kaboom again.”

“I’m on it,” Kara replied, floating into the air.

Supergirl flexed her hands as her eyes scanned the surroundings. The center of the square was relatively clear, but people were still milling about at the outskirts, much to her dismay. She naturally picked out Lena amongst the mass of humans, the CEO and several of her employees having joined in assisting the police with directing the crowd.

Kara tore her gaze away. She resumed her sweep of the area with her X-ray vision, intent on making sure no harm came to any of these people. She was glad that none of the parked cars nearby appeared to be rigged, but that feeling was soon replaced by a burst of anger when she finally saw her target.

“Supergirl!” Winn suddenly shouted. “Under the stage–”

“I’m on it,” Kara repeated, trying to keep her voice level as she moved towards the unmistakeable package sitting under where Lena had been standing mere minutes ago.

“Oh god… The blast radius is– You need to get it–”

“I got this, Winn.”

For the sake of urgency, Kara leapt at the stage and broke through it with her landing. She silently apologized to Lena for the mess before approaching the tangle of wires surrounding a metal box. Her stomach dropped as she saw the display panel actively counting down the seconds to further destruction.

Five.

Kara frowned at the red number as its milliseconds ticked downwards, her mind quickly running through National City’s geography.

Four.

She grabbed the bomb and launched into the sky in one smooth motion, speeding away from the people below.

Three.

The wind whistled in her ears and a bird flapped by, but all of this barely registered in Kara’s mind as she focused on flying higher and higher.

Two.

She drew her arm back as she prepared to fling the bomb upwards, towards at the stars hidden by the sun. Before it left her hands, there was a distinct click.

Kara’s eyes widened.

She didn’t even have time to be surprised before her senses were overtaken by a deafening roar and a flash of green. A corner of her brain recognized this as an early detonation, but there was nothing she could do as her entire body was tossed out of flight.

All Kara knew was the agonizing pain of what must have been fire, and then she was falling, falling, falling.

* * *

Supergirl wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be.

Kara was ninety-nine percent sure that death either hurt a million times more than what she was feeling or it didn’t hurt at all. She was more inclined to hope for the latter since that particular version of death usually came with the chance to reunite with everything she had ever lost.

When all she heard was the whirring and beeping of machines rather than the voices of her parents waking her and welcoming her, Kara figured she was very much alive.

The soreness in her body was testament to that fact. It felt too real, encasing her in a heavy blanket of exhaustion that fortunately wasn’t some unbearable agony that people spoke of when they mentioned hell.

Her mind went quiet after reaching that conclusion, and Kara silently listened to the rhythmic beeping of the device that followed her heartbeat at a steady tempo. It was calming to hear verification of the fact that she was indeed still alive, and she allowed herself that moment of tranquility where she could just forget everything else.

Inevitably, as her brain gradually shook off the murky daze of unconsciousness, Kara’s thoughts became more cohesive as they centered on her loved ones. This inspired to open her eyes, though she hastily shied away from the sunlamps shining on her. A recognizable figure was standing nearby, muttering as she examined the monitors set up around the bed.

“Alex?”

Her sister was by her side in an instant, gripping Kara’s hand.

“You’re awake,” Alex sighed in relief. She gave Kara a light squeeze that the Kryptonian returned.

“How long have I been out?”

“It’s only been half a day,” Alex answered. Pride was apparent in her smile as she explained, “The medics all said it would take you at least twenty-four hours to be up. How do you feel?”

“Like crap,” Kara answered instantly.

Alex shot her a look.

“Very helpful,” the agent deadpanned as she stood up to grab a clipboard. “Any specific pains?”

“My whole body hurts,” Kara lamented. She squinted at the lights above her before turning back to her sister. “Honestly though… it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I feel like I got ran over by a group of fiends instead of a whole horde.”

Alex hummed thoughtfully, glancing between the clipboard and the monitors surrounding Kara. She clicked her pen a few times until she nodded and put it down.

“The good news is that your powers are starting to come back,” she said. “Which is probably why you’re not hurting too much.”

Kara nodded. “And the bad news…?”

“They’re not completely back,” Alex pointed out. “Which means you are going to stay put until I say so.”

Supergirl pouted, but the older Danvers’ stern composure left no room for argument. Kara admitted to herself that she was still too worn out to be moving around, so she quickly changed the topic to a more important issue.

“How is… everyone?”

“Some people were burned from the fires, but they’re all being treated at the local hospital. Nobody’s life was in critical danger except for…” Alex gently prodded Kara’s forehead with a finger. “You.”

If she had more energy, Kara would have put in the effort to stick out her tongue, but she settled for a frown. “It was Cadmus, wasn’t it?”

Alex’s face hardened.

“The bomb was a trap specifically for you,” she confirmed gravely. “As far as we can tell, it was supposed to blow up minutes earlier… when you jumped in to rescue Lena.”

Kara closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.

“How is she?”

Alex sighed and Kara wondered if that was a hint of affectionate annoyance in her eyes.

“She’s been... busy,” Alex reported. “When the medical team wouldn’t let her near you so they could operate, she decided to go all out with relief efforts and tracking Cadmus. She’s been working nonstop.”

Kara chuckled.

“Why am I not surprised?” she asked with fond shake of the head. “She’s such a workaholic…”

“And you love her anyways,” Alex responded easily.

It was meant to be a joke, but Kara’s heart still warmed from the truth. Grinning broadly as she leaned back into her pillow, her ears automatically tried to search for the sound of Lena’s heartbeat.

Kara was reminded of her lack of powers when all she heard was the humming of the machines surrounding her. A bit miffed at her inability to pinpoint Lena’s location, she turned to Alex. “Is she here?”

Alex patted her shoulder, no doubt figuring out what Kara’s pout now meant. “She is. Now that you’re awake, we have a good reason to drag her away from the computer.”

That reason was quickly applied once Alex completed a full check up of her patient. She made sure Kara was comfortable before disappearing down the hall to spread the news.

Kara played with the hem of the shirt she had been changed into while she waited. It didn’t take too long for a firm knock to signal the arrival of the person she was dying to see.

The door opened slowly, almost cautiously, and Kara was seized with the desire to jump out of bed for a much-needed embrace when she noticed the fatigue evident in her girlfriend’s posture and the faintest hints of red around her eyes. Per her sister’s orders however, she stayed put and waited.

Lena lingered by the doorway with an unreadable expression. She was like a statue, distant and frozen in some sort of hesitation.

Kara decided to break the ice.

“I’m starting to think that outdoor conferences and you don’t really get along,” she joked.

This earned her a tiny, almost imperceptible smile, but one nonetheless.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been by,” Lena murmured as she finally stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. She bit her lip before explaining, “Jess called and said I was needed at L-Corp, and then we found the employee responsible for the bomb... Winn also found another lead on my mother so–”

“Hey, don’t worry. I get it,” Kara interrupted. “I know you’ve been busy cleaning up the mess and stopping Cadmus while I’ve been here sleeping.”

“I’m glad you’re awake now,” Lena said as she moved closer. To Kara’s displeasure, however, she stopped just out of arm’s reach.

Kara pouted before a stray thought returned to her.

“Oh, sorry about breaking your stage, by the way. I mean it was probably already ruined thanks to the fire, but… yeah.”

Lena frowned at this before letting out an exasperated chuckle. “You nearly died and you’re apologizing about collateral damage from saving lives?”

Kara shrugged and winced when her shoulder muscles protested. “How big was the boom?”

Lena’s smile turned pained.

“It would have hurt so many if you didn’t take it away.”

Kara nodded firmly. “Then it was worth it,” she stated.

A shadow crossed Lena’s face. Kara watched as her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth turned downwards, something clearly plaguing the Luthor’s mind. Kara kept her hands at bay, tightening them into fists until Lena closed her eyes and let out a shaky exhale.

“I won’t ever ask you to stop being Supergirl, but…” Lena visibly swallowed as she opened her eyes. “I saw you fall. You fell from the sky and… I just… I can’t lose you, Kara.”

Kara blinked rapidly a few times to chase away an impromptu buildup of moisture in her eyes. Lena similarly held in the tears that inspired the wave of emotion in Kara, and the weakened superhero clenched her jaw as she searched for the right words to say.

It took another second before she spoke.

“You’ll always have me,” Kara said quietly. “Even if– No matter what happens, I’ll always be yours.”

Kara wasn’t as naive as some thought her to be; she knew that with all her might and strength, there were some things she couldn’t guarantee such as her own safety, let alone whatever the universe had in store for the two of them. Even so, she hoped that Lena could understand her conviction, could trust in her determination, could believe in her love.

Something shifted on Lena’s face and she tilted her head at a familiar angle.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

The sun had nothing on the warmth Kara felt when Lena nodded, a small smile returning to her lips. An unspoken agreement passed between them, one where they both knew that they needed to talk more about this later but were content with just celebrating their reunion for now.

“Thank you for coming back to me—to us,” Lena said softly. “To everyone.”

“I do my best,” Kara replied, putting on her trademark Supergirl grin for good measure.

Lena laughed lightly and placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “That you do.”

The weight of her touch was comforting, and Kara relaxed into her pillow. She felt even more at ease when Lena’s thumb began smoothing out the wrinkles of her shirt. Even though she could still feel the soreness and weariness of her body, her mind was reinvigorated enough to start making plans for when she could be up and about again.

“Lena?”

“Yes?”

“You’ll help me pay back Cadmus, right?”

A smirk appeared on Lena’s face.

“Already ahead of you,” she said, her eyes glinting dangerously before her expression softened again. “You need to rest for now though.”

“Yeah,” Kara grumbled as she shifted in her bed. “Stuff still kinda hurts.”

Lena chuckled. “Allow me to kiss it better then, Supergirl."

Kara’s heart swelled with affection just from thinking about the incoming kiss. She could have sworn she heard her name whispered right before Lena leaned over her, and her eyelids fluttered shut.

Lena’s lips touched her forehead, and then there was pain.

It was as though someone was dragging a white hot knife across her skin, slowly carving into her chest. Kara instinctively clutched at her heart as she winced from the sharp, piercing sensation. Despite the pain, however, her mind was screaming at her for a different reason, urging her to look at Lena.

Lena had already jerked away, but she was now staring transfixed at Kara as she gripped the front of her blouse tightly. She seemed to be in shock until she suddenly began undoing her buttons.

Kara extended her hand, and it was as if the world had slowed down.

Just inches away from Kara’s outstretched fingers, a pattern was blossoming on Lena’s skin. The raw, red lines painstakingly expanded outwards from where they started, their convergence point already settling into a more natural color. Kara didn’t need to see to know; she could _feel_ the very same shape etching itself onto her.

Kara finally looked down when the pain had stopped and Lena reached out to tug at the neckline of her shirt. She could feel Lena’s fingers trembling against her skin at the place just above her heart where a symbol now resided:

Their Brand.

There was so much they had to talk about, not to mention the announcements they would have to make and the cousin she would have to complain to, but at that moment, none of that really mattered.

None of that mattered as Kara whispered promises she had locked away for so long. None of that mattered as Lena pulled her into an impassioned kiss, her hand placed over Kara’s heart. None of that mattered as Kara’s fingers absentmindedly traced Lena’s Brand, its shape already seared into her mind.

None of that mattered because her home had been here all along.


	10. In Which They Love

Up, right, turn, right, down, left, up, right…

Kara’s eyes were closed, but her fingers knew where to go, guided by her heart as she traced a pattern into soft skin. She was only half awake with part of her at risk of dozing off again at any second, though that didn’t hinder her at all. The invisible lines she drew already felt as familiar as her own name, and should she ever forget their design, she could always check the shared mark embedded in their skin.

As her fingers flitted across a small expanse of Lena’s back, Kara let a sigh of happiness escape her lungs. The smile she woke up with had yet to leave her face, and she silently thanked Rao and the universe for the preordained miracle that was their Brand.

On an impulse, Kara moved her hand to the symbol on the left side of her chest. She carefully rubbed it with her thumb to feel the shallow grooves and subtle ridges etched there. A chuckle escaped her as she recalled how everyone had worried that her Kryptonian physiology meant that her Brand would disappear once she fully recovered from Cadmus’ bomb.

As fate would have it, the concern over the permanence of her mark had been unnecessary. Kara’s powers made their full return and her various wounds healed quickly, but the Brand had stayed. It was now a part of her, just as it was always meant to be.

Kara slowly returned her hand to its original position on Lena’s back, and her fingers resumed their unhurried dance on her skin. After a few minutes, she felt Lena stir in her arms, though that didn’t stop her from drawing their Brand for the nth time. Kara felt rather than heard Lena’s drowsy giggle, and she grinned as she gently pressed a kiss to the back of her lover’s neck.

“Good morning,” Lena mumbled, turning to face her hero. Her hand automatically moved to cup Kara’s face.

Kara almost responded with the same words, but the tender brightness in Lena’s eyes made her change her mind. “I love you,” she said instead.

Lena’s nose scrunched, and she smiled broadly before planting a kiss at the corner of Kara’s mouth.

“And I love you. Even if you woke me up with tickles,” Lena said as she snuggled closer.

Kara gasped in mock offense.

“I was not tickling you!” she protested. “I would never stoop to such juvenile activities.”

“Oh?” Lena asked, her eyes narrowing in amusement. “What were you doing then, Miss Danvers?”

“What you’re doing right now,” Kara deadpanned as she grabbed the hand skimming over her Brand. She lifted it to her lips, placing featherlight kisses on Lena’s knuckles.

Lena laughed, full and hearty.

“I’m so happy it was you all along,” she murmured after her merriment died away. “I would have stayed with you either way, but…”

“I know,” Kara said softly. She carefully combed back Lena’s hair to see her face better. “It’s almost like we were meant to be… because we chose to be.”

Lena gave a hum of agreement. For a moment, they simply stared into each other’s eyes until one of them pulled the other into a soft kiss. Kara didn’t know who initiated it, but she still smiled from the content sigh she heard from Lena after their lips parted.

“I could stay here forever,” Kara said blissfully. “With you.”

Lena chuckled with a reluctant shake of her head.

“I wish we could, but I have the merger meeting to attend,” she pointed out. Despite her words though, she cuddled even closer to Kara, pressing their bodies together.

Kara almost wanted to snort and point out the discrepancy between Lena’s statement and her actions. Instead, she grudgingly admitted to her day’s plans as well even as her hands moved to Lena’s hips.

“I guess I can’t skip out on seeing Eliza and Clark either,” she sighed. “That’s going to be… fun.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Lena assured her. She quickly kissed the tip of Kara’s nose before adding, “Even if it’s not, we have dinner with Alex and Maggie to look forward to.”

“And then more cuddles at night,” Kara declared.

“ _Just_ cuddles?” Lena asked slyly.

Kara grinned at the implications behind her words. “Maybe more, if you’re interested.”

Neither of them moved.

“... We actually have to get out of bed first, you know.”

“After you, Supergirl.”

Kara’s grin turned into a smirk at the subtle challenge she heard in her lover’s voice. She briefly considered her options, which included simply pushing Lena off the bed—carefully, of course—or maybe motivating her to get up first with a pout. A third idea came to her, and she quickly settled on that one.

Her apartment was suddenly filled with shrieks of laughter and giggled protests as she took advantage of her super speed and dexterity to run her fingers along Lena’s sides. Her tickle assault was met with arms feebly trying to push her away, though obviously to no avail.

“Kara. Zor. El!” Lena gasped between breaths and attempts to squirm away. “This is… not fair!”

Kara, having already abandoned her original goal of getting Lena out of bed first, used her strength to keep Lena pinned under her. As she pressed their foreheads together, she gleefully proclaimed, “All’s fair in love and war!”

“How dare…!”

Whatever Lena was going to say was lost in another peal of laughter. Kara almost thought her chest was going to burst from the happiness flooding her in this moment, and it only increased when she saw genuine joy and delight reflected back at her in Lena’s eyes.

“I love you so much,” Kara breathed out before resuming her tickle attack.

She eventually lost that fight when Lena smothered her face with kisses, but Kara didn’t mind at all.

* * *

As much as Kara loved National City, she would always hold dear the sweet, quiet nostalgia that came from being near Midvale. The air that filled her lungs with every inhale was as crisp and clean as ever, and it reminded her of times that had been both simpler in some ways and harder in others.

It would be nice to bring Lena here, Kara idly thought as she tiptoed and stretched her arms towards the sun.

Right on cue, there was a thud behind her signaling the arrival of the person she had been waiting for.

“Kara!”

Clark was all smiles as he pulled her into a tight hug. Kara felt the pressure of his superhuman strength in the embrace, and she returned the favor, squeezing her cousin with equal force. She snickered when she heard him grunt in surprise.

“Wow,” Clark said as he pulled away. “Did you get stronger since the last time I saw you?”

“I don’t think so,” Kara said, tilting her head in mock thought. “Did you get softer?”

“I hope not,” Clark laughed. “Lois would kill me if anything happened to me.”

Kara’s smile became a little wistful as she thought of the last time they had spoken of Lois Lane in this exact same place. As distant as it was, that particular memory had grown rather clear lately, and it made her recall why she had asked to meet Clark here.

Kara stooped down to pick up the box that was resting at her feet. It had been dusty when she dug it out of the corner of the closet she had shoved it into so long ago, forced out of sight and buried under other forgotten objects. She brushed her hand over the metallic container one last time to make sure it was clean before handing it to its original owner.

Clark’s smile faded as he took it from her.

“You haven’t opened it,” he said. His voice was calm, but there was something downcast in his eyes when he ran his fingers along the box’s sides to verify that it was still indeed welded tightly shut.

“It’s Kryptonite, isn’t it?” Kara asked.

“It is,” Clark confirmed. He exhaled slowly. “It’s just a small bit, but it’s enough for us to…”

“Enough for us to be Branded,” Kara finished for him.

Clark appeared surprised for a second before he nodded. He looked as though he was holding back from saying something, but he absentmindedly rubbed the symbol on the lid of his box, and that seemed to give him the courage to speak.

“Listen, Kara…” he said slowly. “Jimmy told me about how close you are with Lena Luthor.”

Kara furrowed her eyebrows as she wondered where her cousin was going. She slowly crossed her arms and waited for him to continue.

Clark lifted a corner of his mouth.

“Have you ever considered that the two of you… could be more?”

Kara was a millisecond away from blurting out the fact that they _were_ more, that they were meant to be and Clark was behind on the news—though Kara knew she was partly to blame for that—but a realization hit her, and her eyes widened.

“You knew,” she breathed out. “You knew it was her this whole time.”

“I suspected– Wait.” Clark blinked in confusion. “You… you _know_.”

“That she’s my soulmate? Yeah, I know,” Kara said. “But go back. How come you–”

“Wait, wait,” Clark interjected, holding up a hand, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Lena Luthor is your soulmate for sure?”

“Yeah, we– Did you hear about the Cadmus attack last week?” Clark nodded, and Kara quickly explained, “I was caught in the blast and I lost my powers for a bit and I was Branded… but you’re telling me you knew this whole time and you didn't say anything!?”

Clark mimicked a fish out of water until he suddenly let out a burst of laughter.

“I _suspected_ ,” he clarified. “I was there the first few times you met her, remember? I didn’t need supervision to see that there was something… special between you two. Looks like I was right.”

“Then why didn’t you–” Kara threw her arms up in indignation before glaring at her little cousin.

“... Kara.”

Clark’s voice when he said her name was surprisingly somber, and the sudden reticence threw her off guard. He jerked his head towards the stretch of land around them, and Kara gave up her faux anger as she accepted his quiet request to go for a stroll.

Their capes billowed behind them as they walked side by side, the wind breezing past them. The sun seemed to be watching them, shining on the last two children of Krypton and the crest they bore on their chests.

“I still remember the day I gave you this box,” Clark began, bouncing it in his palm. “And I still remember how much the idea of being bonded to a human hurt you.”

Kara let out a sigh. “I remember too,” she mumbled.

Clark– Kal reached around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze before letting go. “We both know I’ve made my share of mistakes,” he said gently. “But I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

“I– I know.”

“Back then, I thought it would be easier for you—for us if we didn’t talk about… certain things,” Kal admitted. “And I guess that just stuck with us through the years.”

Kara felt the familiar sting in her heart from thinking about the gulf between her and her cousin. She found it easier to swallow the lump in her throat when he was actually next to her, but the wound remained. Wounds could heal though, Kara thought as Kal suddenly turned to her with a small smile.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “All these months I was waiting for you to say something about Lena, but I was too afraid to ask you.”

“Because you were scared of hurting me,” Kara realized. “You didn’t want to bring up the Brand.”

“Exactly.” Kal tiled his head back to squint at the sun. “I didn’t know if you still hated the idea of having a human soulmate or not, and I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me of all people about it, so I just didn’t ask.”

Kara let out a huff of exasperation. “I wish you did,” she grumbled. “Things worked out in the end but… I think it would have saved us a lot of trouble if you just asked. Or if you told me that I needed to lose my powers to be Branded.”

Kal blinked blankly at her. “I thought I implied it enough with this,” he said as he held up the lead box.

“Do you remember your exact words that day?”

“I said to open this when you’ve found the one for you.”

“Yeah,” Kara nodded before jabbing Superman roughly with her elbow. She felt slightly vindicated when he winced. “You should have said ‘open this when you _think_ you’ve found the one for you.’ How else would I know for sure?”

Kal’s whole body sagged as the distinction clicked. “I’m so sorry,” he groaned in defeat. “Really, I’m just… I’m sorry, Kara.”

“It’s alright,” Kara laughed. Determined to put all of this behind her, she dragged her cousin into another hug and was relieved when he automatically embraced her as well. “Things haven’t been easy, but like I said, it all worked out.”

“I’d… like to hear about it sometime, if you’re willing,” Kal said. “I feel like there’s a lot of stuff we should learn to talk about.”

“That would be nice,” Kara agreed as she thought about all the things she never got to tell him about Krypton... and about Lena.

“Can I ask you something first though?” Kal said as he slightly pulled away. Kara wasn’t worried in the slightest since there was a suspicious twinkle in his eyes.

“Go for it.”

“Does she make you happy?” Kal asked even though they both already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” Kara smiled. “She does.”

* * *

“You are really huggable, you know that?”

Lena smirked.

“Well, there has to be some reason why you haven’t let go of me for the past twenty minutes,” the CEO said.

Kara grinned as she tightened her hold on her lover. Her head was placed on Lena’s shoulder as she embraced her from behind, a position she had been maintaining ever since they set foot in Lena’s lab. She moved when Lena moved and stopped when she stopped, following her throughout the room without ever letting go.

“It’s the fastest way for me to recharge my inner energy,” Kara said with all due seriousness. “I missed dinner _and_ the chance to spend time with you earlier.”

Lena turned her head to look at Kara with what would have been annoyance, but the quirk at the corner of her lips gave her amusement away.

“What would your excuse be if that goo monster didn’t show up to interrupt our plans?”

“The fact that you are seriously just _really_ huggable.”

That earned her a chuckle, and Kara quickly took the chance to plant a kiss on the side of her girlfriend’s neck. Her grin broadened when Lena leaned back to be supported by Kara’s sturdy frame.

“You know,” Lena mused. “One could argue that I was born to be held by you.”

“... Does that mean I was born to hold you?” Kara smiled. “I’m okay with that.”

And she really was.

There were still nights when she would wake up spontaneously, disoriented by dreams of a distant life that never had the chance to be. There were other times when the burden on her shoulders increased in weight, her various losses returning to haunt her. Sometimes, even her life as both Kara Danvers and Supergirl was just a bit too much.

Whenever she faltered, though, Lena was always there. Sometimes she would stay up all night just to hold Kara’s hand and listen to her talk, be it in Kryptonian or English. On the instances when Kara was unable to speak, Lena would be the one to whisper to her soothingly, sometimes to reassure and sometimes to simply distract from the darkness. When she knew her presence alone wasn’t enough, Lena would call Alex, saying something casually about a “3am science project” and the older Danvers would appear with Maggie and comfort food in tow.

Those nights were thankfully seldom, and Kara’s daily life was lighter as well due to being able to come home to Lena after long days. Her random drop ins at L-Corp never ceased, and even rushed balcony kisses were enough to empower her for hours on end. Much like their first initial meetings, Lena’s unending determination to be a “force for good” continued to inspire her own efforts, and the knowledge that she did the same for Lena bolstered her even further.

Kara knew that things would never be simple or easy for a Super and Luthor especially with the legacies they carried, but with Lena and her love, it was okay. They would be okay. Together.

“El mayarah,” Kara suddenly blurted out.

Lena carefully detached herself from Kara to turn around and face her. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head at the curious angle that Kara loved. “Stronger together?” she asked.

“Stronger together,” Kara confirmed. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she explained, “You and me… we’re stronger together.”

Lena’s answering smile was bright and its radiance somehow filled Kara with even more affection than was already possible. As Lena cupped her cheeks with tender and caring hands, Kara idly thought that the pounding of her heart almost made it feel like her Brand was pulsing too. She felt a tug on her face and she followed it, gravitating towards Lena as she always did.

Lena brought their lips together in a breathtaking, soul-filling kiss, and Kara’s final thought was of love.


	11. Chasing Cars – Harmonizing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, after a very long time... we are at the end.
> 
> I can't exactly say that writing this fic was a pleasure trip from head to toe, but I hope that you as the reader have enjoyed this journey. Thank you so much for choosing to read this fic, and an extra thanks goes out to those who have left comments and voiced your support. Your thoughts on Holding Rivers/Chasing Cars have been great motivation, and it was with your help that this fic was completed.
> 
> So once again, thank you, and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

Some things never changed.

Much like how Lillian Luthor would never be likely to give her adopted daughter true affection— never mind love—Lena would probably never learn to stamp out that flicker of hope whenever her mother directed some attention her way.

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a headache building as soon as she finished rereading the email Lillian sent her. She exhaled loudly, a mixture of disappointment and sarcastic amusement, and she closed her eyes as she tried to find the energy to reply.

She had been surprised when she first saw Lillian’s name in her inbox. The email started innocuously enough, Lillian exercising due diligence and inquiring after Lena’s current status like any other regular mother would do. As Lena suspected though, Lillian’s polite words soon moved to the crux of the matter, namely a request—a command for Lena to allow access to a specific LuthorCorp lab.

Lena sighed again, this time in frustration. She set her laptop aside on her coffee table and leaned forward to bury her face in her hands, shoulders hunched with tension. Minutes passed as she sat there, unmoving, while her brain displayed nothing but static.

She was tired.

Without looking up, Lena lifted a hand only to bring it down, closing her laptop. There was no point in replying, she figured, for she couldn’t come up with a sufficiently sassy and snarky way to say ‘no’ that didn’t start with an ‘F’ and end in a ‘you’.

Right on cue, there was a small gust of wind and a gentle thud by the balcony.

“I’m back!” a voice sang.

Lena’s frown was instantly replaced by a smile, her entire being already relaxing just from knowing that her love was near. She leaned back on her couch, waiting, and sure enough a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders just a few seconds later.

“Long time no see,” Kara grinned. She gazed at Lena for a few seconds before tilting her head. “Is everything okay?”

“It is now,” Lena answered, half joking and half serious.

Kara nudged her playfully, but that small, worried crease between her brows didn’t disappear.

“I’m here if you need anything,” Kara said. “I know you had a long week.”

Lena pursed her lips even as she leaned into the warmth next to her. After just a few seconds, she allowed herself to indulge in the kindness offered.

“A warm bath would be wonderful right now,” Lena admitted. She tilted her head, searching Kara’s eyes. “Would that be okay?”

“I did say anything, right?”

Within seconds, Lena was scooped up in her hero’s arms as a featherlight kiss was planted on her lips. She had long since lost count of how many kisses they’ve shared, yet her heart continued to flutter each time. Even now, it skipped a beat in glee, a fact she suspected Kara was well aware of.

“Your wish is my command,” Kara declared grandly, even adding a wink before whisking Lena off to the bathroom.

In mere minutes, Lena was stretching languidly, feeling her muscles tense before loosening in the hot water surrounding her. A pair of hands carefully massaged her shoulders, and Lena could practically feel her soul unwind, setting down the burdens of the day.

“This is amazing,” she sighed. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you,” Kara murmured as she continued her ministrations.

Lena practically melted from her love’s attention and care, the turmoil in her head giving way to quiet. Not for the first time, she noted that these moments of peace were just so _easy_ to come by with Kara next to her, especially with the newfound intimacy they dared to share as of late.

Lena wished this could last forever.

“God, I could marry you,” she mumbled as she sank deeper into the bathtub.

Kara chuckled.

“... I mean you _could_.”

Lena’s response was lost in the soft splashing of water.

It was so tantalizing, that promise of forever. Lena was tempted to reach out and seize it that very instant, turning her accidental admission into a pledge of eternity that would chain them together. At the same time though, she drew back, shrinking into the shell around her heart.

Some dreams were meant to stay dreams, Lena reminded herself. There was no point in forcing a forbidden fantasy into reality. Still, she allowed herself one concession: three words that she found herself uttering on a regular basis, repeating them with a secret desperation until the day she would no longer be allowed to.

“I love you,” Lena said quietly. “I will always love you.”

Kara pressed her lips to Lena’s shoulder, holding them there before answering.

“And I love you. I always will.”

Lena gently cradled Kara’s response in her chest, taking them in with every breath. She silently recited her own words over and over in an oath she would carry with her until her dying days.

Until then, she would continue to dream.

* * *

It was a nightmare.

One second, Lena had been steeling herself for facing National City’s public and press, once again putting her company’s reputation on the line by announcing some potential technological changes that L-Corp could bring to the world.

The next second, everything was on fire.

Lena could have sworn she glimpsed her mother sneering at her amidst the panicking crowd, dressed in black like some specter of death. Their eyes met for a fraction of a moment before Lena’s self-preservation instincts kicked in and her body ducked behind her podium, taking shelter while she waited for the help that would surely come.

Not even two heartbeats later, Supergirl materialized before her.

“You’re safe now,” Kara said, and Lena suddenly remembered the very first time Supergirl saved her from her family so many months ago.

Perhaps it was the cocktail of adrenaline, relief, and fear coursing through her veins all at once, but Lena was unable to find the words to thank her hero. All she could muster was a nod, but Lena knew in her heart that Kara understood—Kara _always_ understood—and so she entrusted her safety to the Girl of Steel and was quickly flown away from all the destruction.

“Are you alright, Miss Luthor?” Detective Sawyer asked as soon as Lena landed next to her.

Lena took in a deep breath.

“... I’m fine,” she managed to force out before another voice called for her.

“Miss Luthor! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Jess gasped as she rushed over. Lena recognized the small group of L-Corp employees following her, a tender fondness filling her chest as they all turned to her with concern and worry.

“I’m fine,” Lena repeated, this time with more conviction. “I wasn’t hurt. Supergirl saved me.”

Detective Sawyer let out a chuckle.

“She always does.”

Lena cracked a smile at that before redirecting her attention towards the confused mass still swarming about. Settling back into her role as the leader of her company, Lena began directing Jess and the rest of her employees awaiting further orders. The last remnants of the panic that gripped her lungs quickly ebbed away as Lena focused on what she always tried to do best: help.

Anxiety started to creep back in moments later when Supergirl suddenly dived towards the stage, breaking through it with ease. Lena blinked and almost missed the instant when Kara took to the skies in a blur. She appeared to be carrying something, and Lena wasn’t surprised; one explosion simply to scare her daughter felt a little too understated for someone like Lillian Luthor.

Supergirl climbed higher and higher into the sky, but for some reason Lena’s skin began to crawl. The awe Lena always felt when she saw Kara in flight was smothered under the growing dread clawing its way into her throat, and it was wiped out entirely the second the sky lit up in an explosion.

Lena’s blood turned to ice when the heavens were illuminated not with the familiar glare of red, but the distinct poison of green.

Kryptonite.

An eerie silence gripped the plaza, everyone watching in transfixed suspense as a figure broke away from the smoke and ashes and began descending from the sky. Supergirl was moving far too fast though, losing altitude at a speed that belied her usual grace and control.

She was falling, Lena realized.

Kara was _falling_ from the sky.

Everything was chaos after that, the crowd’s hysteria renewed in horrified wails. Within the cacophony of clashing sounds, Lena managed to single out one specific voice, one screaming “No, no, no!” repeatedly like a terrified, agonized mantra.

It was only when her throat closed off in despair that Lena realized that voice was her own.

* * *

“It sucks, doesn't it?”

Lena spared only the briefest of glances in Winn’s direction, her jaw clenched as tightly as her grip on the computer mouse.

“What specifically are you referring to, Mr. Schott?” she asked icily.

“Ouch, back to last name basis?”

Winn gave a theatrical wince, placing his hands over his heart in mock hurt. Were it any other day, Lena might have played along or at least rolled her eyes, but all she could bear at the moment was a frustrated sigh and chastisement at herself for lashing out.

“Sorry, Winn,” she muttered. “But I really don’t have the energy for this.”

“Maybe that’s because you haven’t eaten all day?” Winn suggested weakly. He even wisely scooted back a few inches as he added, “I don’t think hacking Cadmus for hours without a break helps either.”

“I have to do this,” Lena immediately replied. “I can’t let this happen again.”

For a moment, Winn gave no response and Lena figured that was the end of the conversation. She knew she was hardly good company right now, and she wouldn’t begrudge Winn for wanting to leave her alone, friends or not.

And then he spoke up again, his voice quieter than usual.

“It will, you know. It’s going to happen again.”

Lena froze, her eyes losing focus on the screen in front of her.

“It’s part of the package, you know?” Winn continued. “Supergirl saves the day… and sometimes she gets hurt doing so.”

Withholding a comment regarding her mother that probably would have come out harsher than necessary, Lena took a deep breath before letting it out in another exhausted sigh.

“What’s your point?” she asked, far too tired.

“Kara… She once said that you sometimes, uh, bottle your emotions?” Winn smiled sympathetically. “I guess my point is… you don’t have to. Believe me, I know how much it sucks to see your friend go kaboom and not get back up.”

Lena ducked her head for a second. Blinking back tears, she gave a small nod.

“I hate it,” Lena admitted. “I know it’s ‘part of the package’, but I hate seeing Kara get hurt. And I hate knowing it was _my mother_ who hurt her.”

Her emotions were starting to get the better of her, Lena realized, and Winn likely noticed as well. He placed his hand on her shoulder, patting lightly as Lena struggled to find further words.

“I wish Kara was here,” Lena finally whispered. “I wish that she was here, that she was okay, that she was _safe_.”

But she wasn’t.

Kara was lying unconscious rooms and walls away, fighting to survive what Lillian had done. A few minutes of a walk would take Lena right to her, and yet she still felt so far away, stuck in the limbo between being alive and being not quite. Half of Lena’s heart must have already gone to be with Kara, for Lena felt a gaping hole in her chest, one that continued to grow as the minutes and hours passed.

Yet all Lena could do was wait, so she waited and waited and waited, and she finally let herself cry.

Lena’s tears dried up mercifully quickly, her pitiful sniffles stopping as well. She couldn’t help the small smile that came to her when she realized that Winn was _still_ patting her shoulder gently yet awkwardly.

“You’re not very good at this comfort thing, you know,” Lena joked as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

“Cut me some slack. I’m trying!” Winn protested. “Not everyone can be Kara for you.”

“That’s true,” Lena conceded. “But thank you all the same.”

The technologically inclined duo resumed their work a hug and a sandwich later. Although the constant reminder and incessant fear of losing Kara continued to linger, Lena had expected as much, so she simply shoved it aside and left it chained with all the other demons plaguing her. She peeked at it every now and then, using its existence to spur her onwards.

Lena’s concentration shattered the moment Alex appeared and spoke just two words:

“She’s awake.”

It took Lena longer than she expected to reach Kara, her feet dragging behind due to some unseen force. Her hand was similarly weighed down, and it took Lena considerable effort to open the last door separating her and her love. With every beat of her heart nudging her forward, Lena inhaled sharply before knocking and turning the knob.

And there she was.

Kara looked surprisingly well, her eyes bright and alert despite her bedridden status. Kara’s gaze immediately connected with Lena’s, and it felt as though some missing link had finally been reestablished.

And yet Lena could not forget the sight of Kara _falling_.

She could see so many reminders of Kara’s brush with death; from the slight gauntness of her face to the bandages wrapped around both forearms, signs lingered as proof that Kara was not invincible. The stench of antiseptics drifted through the air accompanied by the rhythmic beeping of the machines monitoring Supergirl in this weakened, _human_ state.

Before Lena could stew on these facts any longer, Kara suddenly broke into a grin, masking the exhaustion she surely felt.

“I’m starting to think that outdoor conferences and you don’t really get along,” she quipped, and Lena’s heart gave a familiar, fond flutter.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been by,” Lena apologized. “Jess called and said I was needed at L-Corp, and then we found the employee responsible for the bomb… Winn also found another lead on my mother so–”

“Hey, don’t worry. I get it,” Kara interrupted, still smiling warmly. “I know you’ve been busy cleaning up the mess and stopping Cadmus while I’ve been here sleeping.”

“I’m glad you’re awake now,” Lena said. She was tempted to add ‘ _You have no idea how glad I am_ ,’ but she was sure Kara didn’t need the burden of those words right now.

Kara’s smile faded as her face fell, but before Lena could say a thing, she suddenly winced.

“Oh, sorry for breaking your stage, by the way,” Kara said with a grimace. “I mean it was probably already ruined thanks to the fire, but… yeah.”

A sparkle of laughter flickered in Lena’s chest even as a part of her wanted to knock some common sense into Kara.

“You nearly died and you’re apologizing about collateral damage from saving lives?”

Kara, ever the hero, simply shrugged as if that was what any ordinary person would be more concerned about.

“How big was the boom?” she asked instead.

Lena’s chest tightened, her mind instantly replaying the very moment the sky ignited.

“It would have hurt so many if you didn’t take it away,” she admitted quietly.

“Then it was worth it.”

Lena loved Kara. This was a fact as clear as day, as resolute as the sun, as eternal as time itself. She loved everything about her, from her unending kindness to her adamant determination to even the moments when she faltered, for she always got back up, stronger than ever. Lena loved everything about Kara, and yet she could not help the pain that struck her as she faced the reality of what it meant to love the Girl of Steel.

“I won’t ever ask you to stop being Supergirl,” Lena stated, fighting back the ache growing in her throat. “But I saw you fall. You fell from the sky and… I just… I can’t lose you, Kara.”

It took Kara a moment to reply, a moment in which Lena’s heart thumped loud and louder.

“You’ll always have me,” Kara finally said, her voice soft yet unwavering. “Even if– No matter what happens, I’ll always be yours.”

Every time Lena thought her feelings for Kara could grow no more, she was always proven wrong. Now was no exception, her lungs practically overflowing with so many things that were impossible to say. Lena let the depths of her emotions wash over her, and it was strangely calming to let them swirl around her, to let herself be swept away by the river.

“Promise?” Lena asked even though she already knew Kara’s answer.

“I promise,” Kara vowed.

Lena’s heart swelled.

“Thank you for coming back to me—to us. To everyone.”

“I do my best,” Kara grinned, her usual gusto back along with the twinkling of her eyes.

Lena chuckled, placing her hand on her hero’s shoulder. “That you do.”

She felt Kara relax under her touch, her eyes almost drifting shut before quickly opening again.

“Lena?”

“Yes?”

“You’ll help me pay back Cadmus, right?”

“Already ahead of you,” Lena smirked. Vindictiveness was one of the Luthor traits she could sometimes take pride in, and she was more than ready to put it to good use for the greater good. With Kara’s current condition in mind, however, she made sure to clarify, “You need to rest for now though.”

“Yeah,” Kara agreed with an almost petulant frown. “Stuff still kinda hurts.”

Seizing this chance to display the affection threatening to overwhelm her, Lena smiled.

“Allow me to kiss it better then, Supergirl,” she said before leaning forward.

As gently as she could, Lena brushed her lips against’s Kara’s forehead.

Her heart burst into flames.

Lena wasn’t sure how else to describe the searing sensation taking over the left side of her chest. Her brain could hardly put together a coherent thought as she reeled back in both pain and shock, an invisible force cutting across her skin with a blazing knife. It twisted and turned in some preordained pattern, drawing something.

Kara must have felt the same thing, for she was clutching the same spot on her own chest. This fact jolted Lena to action, and she quickly undid the topmost buttons of her blouse, exposing her skin.

The burning sensation continued, though weaker than before, when Kara reached out tentatively, almost reverently. Lena’s blood pumped loudly in her ears, her hands shaking as she mirrored the action, tugging at Kara’s shirt with a barely contained desperation.

There it was, a symbol carved just above Kara’s heart:

Their Brand.

She finally found it, Lena realized as she pulled Kara into a fervent kiss.

She finally found the truth she had been seeking for so long, the key to the question she constantly carried alongside the ghosts of her soul. She finally found the response she had always been looking for, the answer to the wonderings of a little girl who was learning to be alone in the world.

_Is it worth it?_

_Yes,_ Lena replied. _Yes, it is worth it._

Kara was worth it, Lena thought as her soulmate embraced her tightly, refusing to let go. Love was worth it, Lena trusted as she repeatedly traced every line of Kara’s Brand, refusing to forget its shape. Perhaps _everything_ could be worth it, Lena realized as they exchanged new oaths of eternity, refusing to let their souls be apart.

Everything would be worth it in time, Lena believed, because she was finally, finally home.

* * *

Lex’s office in Metropolis hadn’t changed in years.

Lena would have liked to say that her controlling mother was the one who insisted that it be left the way it was, though she acknowledged that her own lack of visits contributed to the stagnancy of the place. It was a skeleton anyways, all important documents and belongings taken away to leave an empty husk of a room.

There were only two artifacts of Lex left, his desk and leather armchair. If Lena tried hard enough, she could pretend to see the most idealistic version of her brother sitting there; he would be younger, kinder, laughing with a head full of hair and a heart full of hope.

Lena smiled at that thought, and the illusion vanished before it could fully form.

“Miss Luthor?”

Lena turned to greet her guest.

“Thank you for coming to see me, Mr. Kent.”

Clark grinned.

“It was no trouble. Just a quick flight down the block,” he said, winking. “Besides… I owe you an apology.”

Lena suppressed a laugh. She already knew where this was going thanks to her girlfriend, and she allowed herself a smirk as Superman cleared his throat dramatically and bowed his head.

“I humbly beg your forgiveness, Miss Luthor,” he said solemnly. “As my cousin no doubt told you, my poor choice of words has caused you both undue stress and um… suffering. I think that was the word... Undue stress and suffering.”

“Don’t forget pain,” Lena added dryly. “I believe she mentioned plenty of pain.”

“That she did,” Clark sighed before looking up. “Really though, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Lena said. “It all worked out.”

The corner of Clark’s mouth lifted in amusement.

“That’s _exactly_ what she said last week,” he chuckled. “I knew it the moment I saw you two together, but wow, you really are soulmates.”

Lena let out a small cough to hide the faint embarrassment creeping into her cheeks.

“Speaking of apologies...” she said. “I’m sorry we didn’t speak properly the last time you were here.”

Something in Clark’s posture changed, and it wasn’t unlike the shift from Kara Danvers to Kara Zor-El that Lena could easily recognize by now. They really were cousins, she thought, as Clark smiled sadly at her.

“It was a difficult time,” he recalled. “I understand not wanting to see me after what I did to Lex.”

“You were doing the right thing,” Lena pointed out. “You did the right thing. It’s just… my mother, Lillian—she refused to see you.”

Clark shook his head wryly.

“Lex always told me she was a real piece of work,” he said, glancing at the empty chair. “Half of the time, I couldn’t tell if he hated her or admired her. It was probably both.”

“It was,” Lena agreed, and the two lapsed into a contemplative silence.

It was comforting, standing next to someone who remembered the Lex that used to be. Tendrils of nostalgia gently enveloped Lena’s heart and for once she welcomed them, knowing she could trust in the solidarity from her brother’s best friend.

Clark broke the silence, speaking words Lena had only ever confessed to Kara.

“I still miss him sometimes,” Kal said quietly.

Lena smiled.

“I miss him too.”

* * *

“Darling, so it goes~ Some thiiings are meant to be~”

Lena’s eyes fluttered open, roused awake by someone crooning a classic Elvis song in the kitchen. Her nose crinkled as, more importantly, a distinct burning smell wafted into the bedroom.

She waited exactly five seconds.

“Take my hand– Oh, shoot!”

Lena burst into laughter.

“I heard that!” Kara called out. There was a bang followed by another muffled shout before she yelled, “Good morning!”

“Good morning,” Lena replied, stretching languidly before climbing out of bed.

She immediately made her way towards their kitchen, the smell of smoke already dissipating. Kara was still battling a monster of her own creation over by the stove, and like a cat seeking out its favorite heat source, Lena moved to embrace Kara from behind, nuzzling the expanse between her shoulders.

“Sleep well?” Kara asked.

“Mhm,” Lena mumbled. She blinked, recalling something. “I dreamed about Lex again.”

Kara paused her actions.

“Good things or bad things?” she asked gently.

Lena gave a noncommittal shrug before snuggling closer to Kara’s warmth.

“I don’t remember,” she said honestly. Thinking about it a little more, she added, “I don’t mind, really.”

Kara slowly turned in her arms, gazing upon Lena with soft eyes when they were face to face.

“As long as you’re happy,” she said.

Lena leaned forward, kissing the tip of Kara’s nose.

“I am.”

Kara beamed before lighting up with a different kind of excitement.

“Happy anniversary!” she announced, breaking into a wide grin. “Ha! I said it first.”

“Oh come on,” Lena whined. “I just woke up. I didn’t even have breakfast yet.”

“You _missed_ breakfast,” Kara corrected. “It’s almost noon.”

Lena scrunched her nose in mock irritation.

“It’s your fault that I slept in” she complained. “You’ve made me all soft.”

Kara laughed.

“I like soft,” she said, and lunch was momentarily forgotten as she pulled Lena into a deep, satisfying kiss.

An hour later, when their appetites were properly sated without the kitchen burning down, Lena said, “I have something to give to you.”

Kara gasped. “What a coincidence. Me too!”

Shaking her head fondly, Lena got up to retrieve the item she had hidden in her home office for the past week. Kara also vanished somewhere, but Lena paid no mind as she rummaged in one of her drawers until she pulled out a small, lead-lined box. Fingertips tingling with anticipation, Lena hid the box behind her as she returned to their dining table where Kara sat waiting.

“You first,” Kara offered graciously, seemingly unaware of the growing tension coiling inside Lena’s gut.

Lena took a deep breath.

Truth be told, she had already tried to brainstorm what to say when she worked with Alex and Winn to make the item she was about to present. To nobody’s surprise, they had been rather unhelpful, more concerned with teasing her and gushing over the notion of forging a gift from the meteorite Supergirl had caught two weeks ago. Their suggestions had been far too flowery and saccharinely sweet, way too exaggerated to be of any practical use.

Still, they—and all of Lena’s other friends—clearly supported her, entrusting Lena and Kara with their blessings for the future. With the strength of her loved ones in mind, Lena braced herself.

And then she laid out her heart in its simplest form.

“You complete me,” Lena said. “I am myself when I am alone… but I am so much more when I am with you.”

She carefully placed the box on the table between them, opening it to reveal the ring inside.

“Will you marry me?”

For a moment, Kara went still. Her silence would have created doubt once upon a time, but Lena held fast, believing in her soulmate. For all her expectations and hopes though, she could not fight the tears that began to form when Kara suddenly echoed her previous action, placing an identical box on the table and opening it.

Nestled within was a ring of the same exact luster, forged with the same exact design, emblazoned with the same exact Brand.

“I love you,” Kara answered, her words ringing true in both their souls.

Lena smiled.

“And I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> fromanothersun.tumblr.com


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